


The Strength of the Pack

by SparrowStrike



Series: The Pack [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, emotional trauma due to everybody being child soldiers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:29:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 114,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23569105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparrowStrike/pseuds/SparrowStrike
Summary: Part 2 of the Pack AU. Follows Kakashi and his Team 7 through their genin days. Parts of it won't make as much sense without reading Part of the Pack. If it’s been a while since you read Part of the Pack, there's a quick recap inside. The Misadventures of Tenzou's Sprouts (TMoTS) is not required to understand this story, but there will be some minor references to the characters from TMoTS.
Series: The Pack [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1583398
Comments: 123
Kudos: 385





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A quick summary of the Part of the Pack AU up to this point (I really hate writing summaries and want to keep this short, so it's only going to hit the broad strokes).
> 
> Teenage Kakashi thought he'd find closure when he decided to track down his Sensei's orphan. Instead, he found the baby utterly neglected. Kidnapping baby Naruto was more instinct than conscious decision, but once it's done it's done. Kakashi pleads his case and is allowed granted custody of Naruto. 
> 
> Part of the Pack covers the events from Naruto's kidnapping to the Bell Test. Along the way, Kakashi is forced to confront his conflicted feelings about his own parents and manage the grief and trauma he's carried most of his life. In order to protect Naruto, Kakashi find himself building alliances with other clans, key being the Uchiha clan. It helps that Naruto is a sunshine child and with a bit of encouragement he makes fast friends in the academy. Naruto grows up aware of who his parents were, how they died, and what he is (Kakashi doesn't lie and when Naruto is old enough to understand he explains everything).
> 
> When Itachi goes off script during the Uchiha Massacre, Danzou is killed, the truth behind the conflict is revealed, and Sasuke ends up in Kakashi's care as well. Tenzou is promoted into Danzou's job and sets out to dismantle Root (this is where The Misadventures of Tenzou's Sprouts splits off). 
> 
> Sasuke is angry and grieving. The village, knowing Danzou was warmongering and that Uchiha the clan intended to start a civil war, is split in its treatment and view of Sasuke. Its a situation Kakashi is intimately familiar with. He helps Sasuke work through and process his emotions. 
> 
> When Sasuke is attacked by a kid from a pro-Danzou family, he awakens his sharingan and Naruto unleashed the Fox's chakra for the first time to protect Sasuke. 
> 
> This triggers the return of Jiraiya to the village. Kakashi helps Sasuke learn to control his sharingan while Jiraiya begins to teach Naruto about the seal and the power of a jinchuuriki. Naruto, in his stubborn optimism, takes the first steps towards making the Nine-Tailed fox into an ally.
> 
> In the end, both boys graduate the academy and are assigned to Kakashi along with Kakashi's choice of a 3rd genin. It's hardly a traditional arrangement (a parent mentoring their kids), but the jinchuuriki and the Uchiha check and balance each other and Kakashi is the only person who can teach Sasuke to use the sharingan. Sakura is added to bring some common sense to the team. 
> 
> The trio surprise Kakashi during the bell test and the story ends with all 4 of them looking at a bright future as a team.

“Target in sight,” Sakura’s voice came through the coms in a burst of static. She was perched in one of the trees overlooking the market square. “Naruto, he’s headed towards you. Kakashi- Sensei, move 10 feet to your 9 o’clock and you’ll cut off his escape route.”

“Gotcha,” Naruto murmured. 

From her vantage point, Sakura could see him shift and whisper into the collar of his orange jacket. 

“In position,” Kakashi replied. 

  
Sakura could hear the grin in his voice and it sent a rush of pride through her.

“Alright Naruto, you should have a visual of the target any second. Sasuke, you can start moving in from the rear. With Kakashi blocking the easy exit, if Naruto misses the target will turn your way.”

“Moving in,” Saskue confirmed.

‘Got eyes on him,” Naruto said.

A large, orange cat wove its way through the thin, midday crowd. It was 10 feet from Naruto and closing. At 2 feet, Naruto lunged. 

Naruto missed. The cat flinched out of reach, fur bristling and teeth barred. 

Naturo scrambled after it and instead of running the cat went on the attack.

“Sasuke! Move in! Naruto’s in trouble,” Sakura ordered. She saw Sasuke start jogging. The crowd parted, pausing to stare at the big ball of fur and claws trying to remove Naruto’s hand.

Saskue paused just in front of Naruto to survey the situation. With a weary sigh, he bent down, slowly slid his hands under the cat’s belly, and lifted the cat off of Naruto.

“We talked about this. You don’t grab at cat’s like that. Especially scared ones,” Sasuke lectured.

The cat, sensing it had found a kindred spirit, relaxed in his grip. 

“Target apprehended,” Sasuke said into the comms.

“Great. Meet at the fountain to regroup,” Kakashi ordered.

“That cat is a homicidal maniac,” Naruto announced when the rest of the team was in earshop. He was nursing a couple deep scratches on his hands and arms and one good bite on his right hand.

The cat in question was happily snuggled in Sasuke’s arms. It opened its one eye, glared at Naruto, and went back to its nap.

“Nah. He’s just skittish,” Sasuke said.

Kakashi snorted. “Did you confirm that he’s the target.”

Sasuke nodded. “Missing eye, missing ear, scars and fur match the description.”

Kakshi smiled and crouched down to pat the cat’s head. “Hello Riku. Someone’s been worried about you.”

The cat hissed and made a half-hearted swipe at Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed. “I supposed that’s fair. I do smell like dog.” He straightened up and clapped his hands. “Alright guys, let’s take Riku home and go check in at the missions office.”

They dropped the cat off outside the anbu housing, not that any of the kids realized that’s what the apartment complex was. The young man who accepted the cat and the kid he introduced as his little brother both looked exhausted. They were both a bit awkward and stiff, but not bad for anbu Kakashi decided. They were friendlier when they saw how much the cat liked Sasuke and the older one relaxed a bit when he had the cat in his arms.

Kakashi had talked his team into taking the mission at Tenzou’s request. Seems a few other genin teams had tried their hand at it and not had any luck. The owner was in and out of the village on missions and didn’t have time to go looking. Pakkun had helped with the tracking, Sakura had provided the plan, and they boys ran themselves ragged chasing down leads and citings. It had been good work even if they didn’t see the significance of the mission.

Leaving the mission’s office, Kakashi made a point of letting them know. Sakura practically glowed under the praise. “It was smart using the scent of Pakkun to steer the cat towards Naruto.”

“Can we please get a real mission next time?” Naruto whined.

“That was a real mission. You can’t tell me it wasn’t important to Riku’s family,” Kakashi replied, sharply. “Think about how you would feel if it was Pakkun who went missing.”

Naruto frowned, but didn’t argue.

“Missions like this also help you guys hone your skills and your team work,” Kakashi added a bit gentler. He could see the tears Naruto was holding back and the way he clutched his hand to his chest protectively. The mission had been a success in kakashi’s eyes, but it was obvious Naruto didn’t see it and he was hurting.

Naruto nodded.

“One of these days, it’s not going to be a cat you guys are chasing, How you work together and play on each other’s strengths will be critical. You all put in a lot of work over the last few days. Sakura, you did your homework, looking into cat behavior and apprehension tactics. Naruto, you logged a lot of miles chasing down leads and building your network of informants. We only knew the cat was in the market because of you. Sasuke, your practical experience with the subject was critical to the mission success.”

Naruto seemed to cheer up a bit at that.

“You should all be proud. You’re all improving quickly,” Kakashi added.

“But the other rookie teams have all been on missions outside the village already. Are we not ready yet?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi winced. He knew this was coming, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He was out of valid excuses to keep the kids safely inside Konoha’s walls. Logic said, they’d proved half a dozen times that they were ready for the challenge of a c-rank mission and keeping them cooped up in the village any longer would only slow their progress.

“Next time, you guys can pick the mission,” Kakashi said. They were only cleared for C and D-rank, how much trouble could they really get in?

Naruto beamed.

Sakura let out a whoop and then quickly pressed a hand over her mouth.

Naruto laughed and Sasuku smiled.

_ Guess Naruto wasn’t the only one getting a bit bored _ , Kakashi thought. He couldn’t help smiling as the 3 of them argued and debated the type of mission they should pick and where they wanted to go.

The little group split halfway home. Sakura turned for the civilian part of town with a wave and Kakashi and his boys headed for home.

Kakashi caught Naruto staring after the girl and fought the urge to roll his eyes. Watching the kids brought back memories. It was odd how cyclic life could be. On the surface the comparison to another Team 7 wasn’t subtle.

But they weren’t the same. Kakashi thanked the gods everytime Sasuke smiled and Sakura let her inner fire shine. 

Naruto stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk, too busy making puppy dog eyes at Sakura’s back to watch his step.

Sasuke snickers and Naruto swatted the other boy’s shoulder lightly.

The goggles tied to Naruto’s pack caught a ray of sun. It was moments like these when Kakashi swore he could feel Obito’s ghost watching.  _ They’ve already surpassed us _ , Kakashi thought with a smile. It wasn’t until the very end that Kakashi and Obito had figured out how to really work together, figured out how strong they were side by side. Naruto and Sasuke though, they teased and bickered, but when things got bad they always drew together.

\---

Kakashi stood behind his team, letting them look over the missions posted on the bulletin board in the back of the mission office. He took some comfort in the fact that the listings weren’t just grouped by ranking. It was tradition to put the missions that looked like trouble higher on the board, out of reach and sight of the newest genin.

Little did Kakashi know that the tradition was well known to the genin. Naruto had heard it from Kiba who heard it from Hinata who heard it from some older cousin of hers. So, it was reluctantly decided that the tallest on team 7 would choose the mission this time. They were all really getting sick of hearing about the other teams’ adventures and not having any to contribute. How could catching a cat compare to catching robbers in grass country?

Sakura, being a girl, had hit her growth spurt first and was a good 2 inches taller than the boys (something she didn’t let them forget). SHe stood on her very tip toes and scanned the c-rank offerings.

“This one,” Sakura announced, pulling a listing off the board. “It’s an escort mission to the Land of Waves.”

Naruto grinned and Sasuke nodded his approval.

Sakura handed the listing to Kakashi who scanned it. The details were pretty sparse, but it didn’t sound like anything extreme. The reason for the mission was listed as concerns over bandits on the road. 

The mission was a good fit for Team 7. Kakashi wondered if Sakura had figured that out already.

Kurenai’s team had helped track a band of thieves in grass country. It was the perfect sort of mission for an elite tracking team in the making. 

Team 7 was meant to be the offense. Bandits would be good practice and Kakashi figured the kids could handle a few ragtag bandits, especially with him around. Any serious bandit issues would have been their own mission, B-rank at least.

“Sounds good,” Kakashi said. He handed the mission listing back to Sakura. “Let’s go meet our client. It’s early enough we can probably leave today.”

\---

Kakashi had to admit the client wasn’t the sort he’d expected. 

The man was pushing 60 with an obvious beer belly, but his broad shoulders were muscular and the handshake he offered Kakashi was rough and firm. This was a man who’d spent his life doing hard, physical work. He was not the bookish money counter or businessman that Kakashi associated with low level escort missions.

The client, Tazuna, did not endear himself to his hired muscle. He took one look at the genin, stepped around them, ignoring Naruto’s enthusiastic introduction, and introduced himself directly to Kakashi.

“Tazuna, bridge builder.”

Kakashi returned the handshake. “Kakashi Hatake, Jounin Sensei. This is my team.” Kakashi waited for Tazuna to shift his position and face the genin before he continued his introduction. “Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno.” 

Naruto looked startled for a second at his introduction and the subtle emphasis Kakashi had placed on his last name, but then he nodded slightly. He understood. This was a real mission, outside the safety of the village. Being known as Kakashi’s kid would only be a liability.

Tazuna frowned at the genin. “You sure they’re ninjas? They’re a bit short.”

All 3 of the genin bristled at the comment. 

Kakashi fought the urge to sigh. The guy had paid for a c-rank mission and honestly you get what you pay for. That’s no reason to be rude. If anything, Tazuna was getting a good deal. Had he wanted to hire just Kakashi it would have cost a lot more. “They’ve all earned the forehead protectors they wear and their mission records speak for themselves. Of the 23 missions they’ve taken, every single one has been completed successfully.”

Tazuna hummed thoughtfully. He didn’t look convinced.

“They really are more than they appear to be. Besides, you’ll have me along as well,” Kakashi promised.

At last, Tazuna nodded. “Alright Mr. Hatake, but I’m trusting you to get me home to my family.”

“You don’t have to worry Mr. Bridge Builder,” Naruto interrupted. “We’re up to the job.”

Sasuke and Sakura nodded in agreement and a look of genuine excitement flashed across Sasuke’s face. Finally they were going to get a real challenge.

“We’ll meet by the main gates in 2 hours, if that’s agreeable?” Kakashi confirmed.

“The sooner we leave, the better.”

\---

Kakashi’s go bag was already packed. Truth be told, it was always packed, a habit from his anbu days. He considered checking on the boys. His instinct was to make sure Naruto packed something water resistant in addition to his favorite orange jacket and Sasuke remembered his fire resistant arm guards. 

Kakashi resisted the urge. Under ordinary circumstances, genin wouldn’t have their sensei looking over their shoulders. Learning to be prepared and how to pack for a mission was important. THere was nothing they could forget that would get them killed at this point.

Sasuke stood in front of his closet frowning. There was an invisible line that split his closet in half. On the left, every shirt had the Uchiha crest carefully sewn to the back. On the right, they didn’t. Yesterday, Sasuke wouldn’t have hesitated to grab all of his outfits from the left. Hearing Kakashi leave his name out of Naruto’s introduction was making Sasuke reconsider the implications of announcing his heritage.

WIthin Konoha, the Uchiha clan was a symbol of betrayal, treason, and tragedy. But, it was also a symbol of power. It hadn’t made him any friends. 

Outside of the village, Sasuke had no idea what the wider world would think of the Uchiha. The symbol could very easily be a target on his back.

Sasuke couldn’t take back the fact that Tazuna knew his name, but he didn’t have to put it all on display for every other person they passed.

“How many sets of kunai are you packing?” Naruto poked his head into Sasuke’s room and about gave the Uchiha a heart attack.

“Three.”

“Great.” Naruto withdrew his head.

“Wait,” Sasuke called.

Naruto reappeared.

“Can I bounce an idea off you? I can’t ask Kakashi, because he’ll just say it's up to me.” Sasuke very pointedly didn’t look at Naruto. He kept his eyes on the closet as he heard his door open wider and then shut, and Naruto plop down on the edge of the bed.

“I don’t know if I should wear my crest,” Sasuke said. “It could put a target on us.”

Naruto was quiet for a long minute, thinking. “Do you think anyone outside of fire country will recognize it?” Naruto asked at last. “It’s been a long time since anyone outside of Konoha saw an Uchiha.” 

Sasuke winced. He hadn’t thought about that. Six years was a long time. Memories faded and first hand accounts became rare. Outside Konoha, the clan was at best a legend for the strength of the shinobi it produced and a cautionary tale for its demise.

“I think you should wear it,” Naruto said. He had his hand on his stomach, over his seal, and a thoughtful look on his face.

Sasuke turned and stared at Naruto.

“If no one knows what the crest means, you get to tell what it means. You said you wanted to restore your clan’s honor. This is a chance to show the world what it means to be an Uchiha.”

Sasuke swallowed hard and nodded. “Thank you.”

Naruto just grinned wider. “You think too much.”

“And you don’t think enough,” Sasuke teased back.

“And that’s why we work so well.”

Naruto stood up and headed for the door. “Are you packing extra shoes?”

“Haven’t decided yet. Only if they fit. I’m not carrying a giant bag all the way to land of waves”

\---

Team 7 met Tazuna at the gate. Kakashi and the boys were 2 minutes late. Sakura was already there with the bridge builder, trying to make small talk.

They left the village without fanfare, which felt weird to the genin. Every step away from the village felt important. They’d been shinobi for almost 6 months, but as the gates disappeared around a bend in the road, the genin really felt like shinobi for the first time.

Kakashi thought Tazuna seemed on edge. The bridge builder walked stiffly and his eyes were in constant motion. He seemed like someone well accustomed to watching his back. Kakashi wondered why.

They made good time and when they stopped for the night, Kakashi estimated they’d make it to the border in 3 days. From there, it was a short boat ride to Tazuna’s village.

The weather was good, so they didn’t bother with tents.

Kakashi put Sasuke in charge of the fire. Naruto and Sakura gathered sticks while Kakashi went over the different routes they could take with Tazuna.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to have a fire?” Tazuna asked just as Sasuke spat a small fireball onto a pile of kindling.

“Quick! I need more wood!” Sasuke yelled, throwing the whole pile Naruto and Sakura had collected onto the flames. The fireball burned hot and had already consumed the whole kindling stack. 

“It’s fine,” Kakashi promised with a wave of his hand. “We’re still well inside fire country and less than a day away from the village. There’s no bandits here.”

Tazuna nodded, but didn’t look convinced.

“Might want to watch the kids. I think the one with the black hair is going to lose his eyebrows.”

Kakashi turned in time to see Sasuke dump a bigger load of wood into the fire. The flames reared up and Uchiha grinned. “Okay, I don’t think it’s going to burn itself out.”

Naruto whooped and Sakura smiled.

Kakashi shrugged. “Guess we’re having a bonfire tonight.”

They cooked canned soup by setting the open tins in the coals. It took awhile for the fire to die down enough for the coals to be usable. Longer than it should have, because the kids kept adding more things-- sticks, weird looking mushrooms, moss, and their favorite pinecones.

“Enough. If you want dinner tonight, you need to let it die down,” Kakashi finally ordered.

“One more?” Sakura begged and the boys both added their pleading eyes.

“Fine.”

Sakura threw one last big pinecone into the flames. It was the sort that didn’t open without heat and as the flames took hold of each of its spines, it popped open scattering seeds.

  
The kids giggled. Kakashi rolled his eyes and shooed them away from the fire. “How about you go get us some water we can boil for tea? There’s a creek over there.”

Tazuna snorted and watched the kids slip through the trees. He was smiling slightly, a first since Team 7 had met him. 

“They always this rambunctious?” the bridge builder asked.

Kakashi leaned back against a tree trunk and smiled. “Yes and no. They always have too much energy, but they’re especially excited today. New mission to a new place.”

Tazuna nodded. “It’s odd to think that they’re shinobi. They just seem like kids. Maybe a little more arson inclined than most, but maybe that’s normal around here.”

“I try to let them be kids as much as I can afford to. Shinobi don’t get the luxury of a long and easy childhood, so every minute counts,” Kakashi said softly.

“You have kids of your own?” Tazuna asked.

Kakashi just nodded in the direction his 3 had headed.

“I suppose as much time as you spend with them, they might as well be yours.” Tazuna’s face darkened as he stared into the embers. “I’ve got a daughter and a grandson. Your girl reminds me of my daughter when she was that age and things were peaceful. I’ve seen my grandson laugh and play like your boys precious few times. It’s not just shinobi who aren’t promised a happy childhood.” 

“Are things not well in the land of waves?” Kakashi asked.

“You ever been there before?”   
  


“Not for a long time. My team passed through on the way to the frontlines of the 3rd war.”

Tazuna’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t have figured you were old enough to have fought then.”

Kakashi shifted. “I was younger than them. What’s going on in the land of waves?”

“The usual nonsense. Politicians make promises and then they break them. The rich get richer and the rest of us are left fighting for scraps. We’re not important strategically and we aren’t a source of any major exports, so the bigger countries leave us to our own devices until they decide they want something of our.”

Kakashi nodded. He’d heard that story before. Grass, snow, rain, wave, all the small countries struggled.

The kids came back with a big pot of water.

“So what do you all do besides arson?” Tazuna asked.

“What’s arson?” Naruto asked.

“Lighting things on fire,” Sakura said quickly.

“Only Sasuke does arson,” Naruto said.

Sasuke glared.    
  


“My speciality is my shadow clone jutsu and Sakura’s really smart,” Naruto added. He raised his hands to show off his shadow clones, but Kakashi shushinned over and stopped him just in time. 

“Let’s not waste chakra tonight. I’m sure you’ll have a chance to demonstrate before we’re done.”

They took turns keeping watch at Tazuna’s insistence.

Kakashi was now sure here was more to the mission than the bridge builder was letting on, but didn’t press the issue. It wasn’t bad to give the kids practice sleeping in shifts and keeping watch while they were still within the relative safety of their borders.

\---

The second day passed much the same as the first. Kakashi kept the kids in a rotating formation, the sort they’d use if moving through hostile territory. 

\---

The third day dawned colder, but still clear. Kakashi set the kids in a defensive formation on instinct. Something in the morning air felt odd. 

Kakashi took the lead. Naruto and Sasuke brought up the rear. Sakura stayed at Tazuna’s side. Kakashi had quietly tasked her with figuring out whatever secret Tazuna was keeping.

Of the 3 kids, the bridge builder seemed to have a soft spot for Sakura. When she asked questions about his village and family, she got full sentences. The boys got grunts and one word replies. Kakashi figured it was in part Sakura’s natural charm, part the training she’d received in preparation for the diplomatic corps, and part the fact that Tazuna had a daughter.

They’d only been on the move for an hour and Kakashi’s nerves were shot. He was sure now that the tingle on the back of his neck was from an unknown chakra signature. Either someone was following them at a distance or they were skilled at masking their chakra. 

The road ahead was muddy and puddled. The ground sloped steeply to the right and to the left was a rocky cliff face. 

Kakashi casually slid his hand to his kunai pouch.

Behind him, Sakura saw the move and did the same without pausing her conversation.

Sasuke saw the signal and kicked a pebble at Naruto to quietly get the blond’s attention. Naruto glanced at Sasuke, saw the Uchiha’s hand on his holster, and licked his lips. There was trouble ahead.

They were halfway through the muddy area when the ambush happened.

A hand emerged from a puddle and gabbed at Sakura’s ankle.

Before anyone else had a chance to react, “KEEYAA!” Sakura screeched and stamped on the wrist with enough force to hear it crack. The shinobi crawled out of his puddle growling in anger and pain.

The other 2 shinobi were faster. They appeared behind Naruto and Sasuke without a word.

Kakashi threw himself at the man in front of Sakura, driving him back. “Guard Tazuna,” Kakashi ordered.

Sakura drew a kunai and put herself between the bridge builder and the fighting.

Kakashi let his opponent get his footing, using the moment to check on the boys. Sasuke seemed to be holding his own. His eyes glowed crimson and he dodged the enemy’s attacks with ease. Naruto had summoned a pair of shadow clones and the trio were driving their enemy back through the sheer number of blows they rained down on him. The boys were okay for now.

Kakashi’s opponent recovered his footing in the mud and threw a handful of shuriken at the jounin. Kakashi knocked them down with his own shuriken. Dodging would put Sakura and Tazuna in the line of fire. 

Kakashi knew he needed to take the fight in close, keep the man from using his ranged weapons.

Kakashi crossed the distance with a shusshin. The man was too slow to react. He hadn’t counted on a jounin level jutsu and with one broken wrist, he was too slow to dodge or block the kunai Kakashi buried in his throat. 

The man fell clawing at his neck and choking on his blood. Kakashi looked just in time to see Sasuke set his opponent ablaze with a fireball jutsu much bigger and hotter than the one he’d used to start the fire. 

The man fell screaming, but even rolling the mud he couldn’t smother the flames. Sasuke’s hands were still in the final seal and he was feeding the fire a steady stream of chakra.

Naruto’s second clone vanished in a puff of smoke when the shinobi he was fighting caught the clone in the shoulder with a kunai. The man was battered, bruised, and pissed. 

Naruto hadn’t expected the clone to vanish so easily. They normally absorbed a hit or two first, so when the enemy came charging through the puff of smoke, all Naruto could do was throw up his hands to block the slash of a kunai. Naruto staggered backwards and slipped in the mud.

“Sasuke!” Kakashi screamed. He was already running for Naruto, but the Uchiha was closest. 

Sasuke turned and hurled a shuriken before Kakashi was done yelling his name. The shuriken embedded itself in the enemy’s cheek. He screamed and then Kakashi was between the enemy and Naruto. 

The enemy’s scream died as Kakashi’s kunai slipped between the man’s ribs. He fell to his knees, clutching the handle of the blade in his chest and was dead by the time he landed face first in the mud.

“Sound off!” Kakashi ordered as he turned his attention to Naruto. 

The enemy’s blade had caught in Naruto’s loose jacket sleeve before biting deep into the back of his hand. The kid was lucky it hadn’t cut him from the elbow up or caught his face at the end of the upstroke.

“Sound off!” Kakashi yelled again.

“We’re okay,” Sakura called.

“I’m fine,” Sasuke said.

“I’m okay,” Naruto promised as Kakashi took his hand and examined the wound.

The edges of the wound were blackened, like they’d been burned and there wasn’t as much blood as there should have been.

Kakashi’s heart skipped a beat. He pulled a roll of gauze out of the pouch on his belt and used it along with a small stick to put a tourniquet on Naruto’s wrist.

“Did anyone else get cut? Even a scratch?” Kakashi demanded.

He got a chorus of no’s.

Kakashi stood up and helped Naruto to his feet. Then he stalked towards Tazuna.

“You lied,” he snarled. “We’re going back to the village.”

Tazuna met Kakashi’s furious gaze without flinching. “So they’re a little worse than bandits. You handled it just fine.”

“Those were shinobi. And not genin. This mission just went from C-rank to A-rank at least. It’s over.”

“If we turn back now, I’ll die. They won’t refund my money and I can’t afford a different escort. I know I shouldn’t have lied, but I don’t see the issue. Your team handled them with barely a scratch.”

“The blades were poisoned. Naruto needs treatment before it spreads. It gets into his bloodstream, he dies. As it is, it's eating the flesh on his hand and he could lose it. We are going back.”

“Ummm… Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura interrupted hesitantly. 

Kakashi looked up and turned to see what Sakura was pointing at.

Naruto had one of his own kunai buried in the back of his hand. Blood was running down the kids wrist, red and clean.

“What the hell?!” Kakashi snarled.

Naruto let his kunai fall and held up his hand. “I cut out the black parts. I think I got it all. We don’t have to turn back for me.”

Tears rolled down his cheeks and his voice trembled, but Naruto’s face was determined.

Kakashi checked and sure enough, the damaged tissue was gone. The wound was wide and deep and bleeding the way it should. It would be a miracle if Naruto hadn’t damaged the tendons.

“It’s already healing,” Naruto whispered just loud enough for Kakashi to hear.

Kakashi prodded at the wound. Beneath the blood, he could see a tendon wiggling like a worm as it reconnected itself. 

Naruto was pale and very pointedly not looking at the wound.

Kakashi could only imagine what that felt like. 

“Perks of being a jinchuriki,” Naruto mumbled under his breath.

Kakashi nodded. He undid the tourniquet and used the gauze to bandage the wound. 

“Sakura, Sasuke, come here,” Kakashi called. When he had his team in a circle around them he started talking in a low voice.

“Here’s the deal. Tazuna lied on his contract. This mission is beyond what you guys are authorized to handle, but it’s up to us whether we finish the mission or turn back. Those men were shinobi, probably chuunin. We may run into more, or these might have been all whoever wants Tazuna dead could afford,” Kakashi started.

“We should finish the mission,” Naruto interrupted. “We gave our word.”

Sasuke nodded.

Sakura looked like she was thinking. “He has a family,” she said at last. “We can’t just leave him to die.” They were brave words, but she looked shaken. 

Kakashi closed his eyes and thought through the options. Every instinct said to take the kids and make for safety, but the reality was they had managed the fight just fine. To run now would be the very cautious decision.

Kakashi forced himself to imagine if this was Team Minato. Team Minato would have raised hell if their sensei tried to turn around now. 

_ Sensei mode, not parent mode _ , Kakashi reminded himself. 

“Okay, but we’ll have to step up our game. We need to move faster and keep all our senses peeled for another ambush. If we run into more enemies, we turn back. This trip isn’t worth dying over. We can help Tazuna find another way home once we are all safe.”

Kakashi didn’t like it, but it was a calculated risk. If they picked up the pace and moved through the night, they could be in the land of waves by sundown the next day. They could deliver Tazuna before whoever hired the assassins knew their attack had failed.

Kakashi turned from his team to face the bridge builder. “Okay. We’ll continue for now. If I were you, I’d thank the genin, because if it were up to me, we’d be heading back to Konoha.”


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi set a fast pace. Silence was sacrificed for speed and the sound of their feet on the hard packed earth echoed dully in the gathering twilight.

Kakashi glanced up, checking the position of the sun. At best they had an hour before full dark. He wanted to be further at this point.

To Kakashi’s left, Naruto stumbled and then recovered. The kid didn’t complain, but Kakashi could see the exhaustion on Naruto’s face.

To Kakashi’s right, Sasuke looked only a bit less tired.  _ Probably because he isn’t dealing with blood loss _ , Kakashi thought.

Behind him, Kakashi could hear Tazuna’s ragged breathing. The bridge builder had accepted the change of pace without complaint, but it was obvious he wouldn’t be able to keep it up for too much longer. The man’s complaints about the genin and their age had ceased. Seeing them shift from children to soldiers, sent a shiver down the man's spine.  _ So this is the power of a hidden village, _ he thought.  _ What do they do to make their kids into this? _

And Kakashi wanted to go faster. The window of opportunity to get Tazuna home without further conflict was closing. 

Kakashi raised his hand and slowed to a stop. The signal kept Tazuna and Sakura from plowing into his back. “Grab some water,” Kakashi ordered. 

Naruto immediately plopped to the ground and started fishing around in his backpack.

“Either stretch or keep walking around,” Kakashi added. “Your legs will cramp overwise.”

The jounin looked over his team in the last light of day. 

Naruto was pale and the bandage on his hand was soaked through with blood. Even with his accelerated healing, the wound was deep and it would take a day or two for it to heal totally.

Sasuke was pacing in slow circles and very obviously trying to not straight up chug his whole water bottle.

Sakura seemed the least exhausted, which was a bit of a surprise. Then Kakashi remembered she had a good 2 inches on the boys in the leg department. She also hadn’t used any chakra in the fight. Kakashi could use that. If they were attacked now, Sakura would be the most useful of the kids. Sakura leaned against a tree, stretching and watching the road behind them.

From his own bag, Kakashi pulled a small bottle of pills. Soldier pills would temporarily speed up the body’s healing process, increase chakra production, and put the mind in a heightened state of alertness. But, the ones Kakashi had were dosed for an adult man. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that the team would be pushed to this point. The only reason he even had soldier pills in his bag was because they were standard in an anbu kit.

Kakashi frowned at the little round pills. If they were to have any hope of continuing through the night and being in fighting shape, the kids would need a boost.

Kakashi opened the bottle. He used a kunai to split one into half and then quarters. 

Sasuke paused his pacing and gave Kakashi an odd look. “Here,” Kakashi held out one of the pieces. “It’ll help keep your energy and focus up.”

Sasuke swallowed it without question, but the second Kakashi turned his back, the Uchiha pulled a face and chugged the rest of his water. The pill tasted horrible.

Kakashi gave Sakura another piece and Naruto the last 2. He figured with the blood loss, Naruto needed a bit more and his body was the best equipped to handle a little bit of a caffeine overdose.

Kakashi took a whole pill and gave one to Tazuna.

“You’ve got until these kick in before we start moving again. It won’t be long so start talking,” Kakashi ordered the bridge builder. “Who’s after you and why?”

Tazuna sighed. “I suppose there’s no point hiding it anymore.”

Kakashi just waited, arms folded, cold glare in his one visible eye.

“The land of waves isn’t a big place. Our economy is built on 2 things, the fishing industry and the shipping industry. Our port is a convenient stopping point for goods moving between the elemental nations. Because of our neutrality, even in times of war, the port has always been the heart of our country. Our fishing does us no good without a way to export the catch alongside other goods.”

Kakashi nodded. This was nothing he didn’t already know.

“A few years back, one of the bigger shipping companies started buying up the smaller competitors and then the people who refused to sell started to disappear. In the end, a man named Gatou emerged from the shadows with all of our shipping routes and facilities under his control.” 

Kakashi had heard this story before. The land of waves had no shinobi of its own. This was hardly the first time someone seized power. 

“Gatou wasn’t content with just our port. Half our men are stranded on the mainland, because Gatou won’t let their ships land. The man is a coward who preys mainly on the young, the old, and women. He and his men took over everything. They’re violent and cruel. Half of them aren’t interested in money, just in power. We can hardly leave our homes. Everything moves through Gatou. People are starving because they can’t afford to buy food. Gatou, rather than lowering prices, dumps it in the harbor. ” Tazuna’s voice was bitter. “I’ve watched that man destroy my home. No more. Soon we won’t need the port. Gatou doesn’t have the manpower to lock down the whole country. Our economy will rebound and we’ll be able to hire shinobi to remove Gatou.”

“You’re building a bridge,” Kakashi said.

Tazuna smiled and nodded. “More than 1 when it’s all said and done, but it’s the first one that matters most. We’re building it between the western edge of the Land of waves and the eastern edge of the land of fire. Our men on the mainland are nearly done with their half. It’s only 2 miles and the water there is too shallow for Gatou’s ships to bring in cannons. We build it sturdy and he can’t stop us.”

Kakashi had to admit it was a gutsy plan, one that put a massive target on the bridge builder’s back.

“I was in Konoha to brief the Hokage on our progress and borrow the funds to complete the bridge,”Tazuna finished.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at that. If Hiruzen had known Tazuna’s full story, why hadn’t the bridge builder been sent home with an anbu team. Kakashi knew for a fact that 3 anbu would have been sufficient to see the man safely home and the bridge finished without casualties. Hell, with the right anbu, the bridge could be finished in a day. Sure, Tenzou would have complained a lot about using his mokuton so publically, but it was for a good cause.

“Screw Gatou!” Naruto snarled.

Kakashi flinched and whipped around to see the blond on his feet, jogging in place, and punching the air. 

“I hate guys like him! They treat everybody like things instead of people. We’re not going to let him get away with that, are we Kakashi?!”

Sakura sighed and shook her head. While yelling it to the sky was stupid, she didn’t necissarily disagree with Naruto 

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but the smirk on his face was all the agreement Naruto needed.

“And that’s our cue to keep moving,” Kakashi said.

Kakashi let Naruto take the lead. It let the jounin keep a better eye on the energy level of the group.

For the next hour, Naruto mumbled a running stream of threats, half of them nonsense, under his breath.

“I think you gave him too much of whatever that was,” Tazuna told Kakashi.

Kakashi snorted. “I wish I could blame it on that. Naruto is the village’s number one hyperactive loud mouth ninja.”

“And proud of it,” Naruto called back. “I say what needs to be said and I do what needs to be done.”

“He also hates bullies,” Sasuke added.

There was little talking after that. No one had the breath to waste.

They crossed the border as the sun was rising. Kakashi called for a halt. “Take 20 minutes, catch your breath, eat something, grab a minute of sleep if you can. I’ll keep watch.”

Sakura sank to the ground in relief. 

Naruto flopped down and Kakashi was pretty sure he was asleep before he actually hit the ground.

Tazuna settled himself against a tree trunk and closed his eyes.

Sasuke kept pacing. 

“Take a break,” Kakashi ordered gently.

Sasuke shook his head.

Kakashi intercepted Sasuke’s path. “What’s wrong?”

Sasuke hesitated, biting his lower lip and refusing to look up and meet Kakashi’s gaze.

“Come on. I need to know what’s wrong so I can help.”

“I killed that ninja,” Sasuke whispered. “I can still hear him screaming and when I close my eyes, I can see him.”

Kakashi put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. It was all he dared do in enemy territory. “It was you or him. It was your teammates or him. You made the right choice.”

“I can smell it,” Sasuke’s voice came out choked and he finally looked up at Kakashi with tears in his eyes.

Kakashi winced. Fire style jutsus were messy. Whether they were lethal or not, the smell of charred flesh and the screams were horrific. “Come here,” Kakashi ordered and he led Sasuke a little ways from the others. “Sit.” 

Sasuke did as he was told.

“Close your eyes. Tell me what you hear. What you really hear.”

Sasuke swallowed. “There’s a stream nearby. I can hear a breeze, up in the tops of the trees, and there’s a bird somewhere.”

“Good. Now use those to take yourself somewhere else. Think of the cabin. Remember the color of the sky. Use the memories you stored with your sharingan and the sounds around to put yourself back in that place.”

Slowly, Sasuke relaxed.

Kakashi retrieved the smelling salts from his medical kit and pressed them into Sasuke’s hand. “Just take a minute and go somewhere better.”

Sasuke nodded. The smelling salts obliterated everything else and within minutes he was as out as Naruto.

Kakashi let them sleep for closer to 45 minutes. He watched Naruto closest. The kid still looked paler than Kakahsi would like, but hopefully a full night's sleep and a good meal would give his body the boost it needed to turn on his healing factor. 

When Kakashi noticed Naruto’s rem cycle ending, he nudged the kid awake. 

When Kakashi bent to wake up Sasuke, he quietly asked, “okay?”

“Better now.” And Sasuke did look better, certainly less on the edge of a breakdown.

Kakashi knew the memory trick was a band aid on the situation. Hopefully, they’d be able to get Tazuna delivered and then they’d have time to really talk. Of course the first time you killed someone in a fight always did some damage, pair that with the sharingan and 26 hours without sleep and even an adult would be on the edge of a break down. Kakashi was just really glad they’d done the prep work for this. It had taken him over a year to figure out on his own how to use the sharingan’s perfect memory to counter the nightmare it created.

If Sasuke looked better when they started moving again, Naruto looked much worse. 

Naruto had dreamed about the fight over and over, too exhausted to pull himself out of the loop. His clone vanished, the ninja slashed through his defenses with an upstroke, and this time Sasuke and Kakashi weren’t there to interrupt the downstroke. It plunged into Naturo’s throat and he vanished like a clone. Then the loop repeated. 

They moved slower on this side of the border. Kakashi figured they’d already lost their window. He’d been counting on the kids keeping anbu pace, but they weren’t trained like anbu and they didn’t have the physical size or stamina to eat up distance like a more mature shinobi could. 

Tazuna was on edge. Sakura stayed close to the bridge builder. 

Kakashi could hear the distant roar of the ocean. They were almost there. Almost home free.

A flicker of chakra was the only warning they had. One minute, there was nothing and the next an enemy was right behind them.

“Duck!” Sasuke screamed and threw himself at Sakura and Tazuna. The flicker of chakra had triggered his sharingan. It was the only reason he saw the sword in time to react. The 3 landed in a tangle on the ground, the blade passed a foot over their heads, missed Naruto by an inch only because he jumped to the left, and then buried itself in a tree trunk beside the blond.

Laughter filled the air and the light dimmed, fog rolled through the forest. A man appeared standing on the sword hilt. “Well well bridge builder. Seems you brought some friends for me to play with.” He stared down at Naruto with dark eyes and even though his mouth was covered with bandages, Naruto could tell the man was smiling.

Naruto heard Kakashi yell, but the words didn’t register. Everything sounded muted in the fog. He was frozen by that stare and the overwhelming waves of chakra rolling off the man.

The man drew a kunai in a smooth movement and flicked his wrist, sending the blade straight for Naruto’s heart. The genin didn’t even flinch. His heart was already convinced he was dead.

The sound of metal colliding with metal cut through the fog and the paralyzing fear. 

The man’s kunai slammed into the ground, knocked off course by Sasuke’s shuriken.

Naruto heard the others screaming now, to get back, to get down, to move.

Naruto was grabbed by the hood of his jacket and flung backwards. He hit the ground hard and it took a second for him to realize that Kakashi had grabbed and tossed him.

The man on the sword just laughed. “I take it you must be the sensei,” he said to Kakashi. THe man stepped off his sword and pulled it free from the tree like it was nothing. The sword was a good 4 feet long and 10 inches wide, shaped more like a butcher’s knife than a typical broadsword.

“I take it you’re here for Tazuna,” Kakashi replied. He could feel the man’s monster chakra and he recognized the headband, Kiri’s symbol with a single slash through it, the mark of a rogue shinobi. 

The man rolled his shoulders and leveled his blade at Kakashi’s chest. “Yeah, but I’m going to kill you too. I saw what you did to my men. I didn’t really care for them, but they were expensive.”

“Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, defensive formation. Protect Tazuna.” Kakashi’s voice was light and unconcerned.

Naruto scrambled to his feet and joined Sasuke and Sakura in front of the bridge builder. 

“Okay,” Sakura asked under her breath.

Naruto nodded.

“Scared,” Sasuke asked, just a hint of sneer in his voice. 

Naruto bristled. He drew a kunai. “It won’t happen again,” he hissed.

“Good,” Sasuke said it like a challenge. 

Naruto just widened his stance, ready to react to an attack. 

Sasuke nodded. Nothing like a challenge to snap Naruto out of whatever the enemy did to his head. Plus, a pissed Naruto was a reliable Naruto. 

The enemy just laughed. “Cute.”

“I know that weapon,” Kakashi said. “Didn’t expect to see it in the hands of a rogue. You’re a fool. If you’ve got a swordsman on your trail, you shouldn’t be wasting your time taking missions. They’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth to reclaim that blade.”

The man regarded Kakashi with a smirk. “It’s my blade. The fool is you.” 

“Don’t worry,” Kakashi said. His fingers pushed his forehead protector up. “I’ll finish this quickly.”

The man laughed again. “Like I said, cute… But pointless.” The second half came from directly behind Tazuna and the kids. 

Sakura shoved Tazuna and the boys lunged in front of her. 

The enemy’s blade descended. It had the weight and momentum to cut them all down.

Kakashi appeared inches from the other man’s chest. His shoulder slammed into the enemy’s, stopping the stroke and knocking the man off balance.    
  


Kakashi’s kunai was between the man’s ribs in a heartbeat.

The clone dissolved into a puddle.

“Still pointless,” The man said from behind Kakashi. His blade cut theKakashi through the waist.

Sakura screamed and squeezed her eyes closed.

Naruto and Sasuke couldn’t look away.

It took Sakura a second to register that the blood was cold.

Kakashi’s water clone dissipated.

The enemy's eyes widened. He found himself staring into a pair of mismatched eyes, one dark and one crimson. 

“Well this just got more,” the man said. “I’ve heard stories about you. Konoha’s legendary copy ninja, Kakashi of the sharingan.”

“Seems I’m at a disadvantage. You know who I am, but I don’t know your name.”

The man snorted. “I heard you retired. Must not have kept up with the bingo books.”

“Or maybe you don’t rank high enough to show up in my bingo book.”

The man lunged without warning. 

Kakashi danced easily out of reach.

The man lunged again, using the sword to steer Kakashi further from the genin and the bridge builder.

“My name’s Zabuza. They used to call me the Demon of the Hidden Mist. These days, they just call me the Demon.”

Kakashi snorted and dodged another stroke.  _ Just got to keep drawing him away from the kids, _ he thought grimly.  _ I really hope one of them is smart enough to realize they should be running. _

“We should get Tazuna to safety,” Sakura hissed. “The boat’s waiting just over the next hill.”

“We're not leaving Kakashi. We’re not running away,” Naruto snapped. He climbed to his feet and drew another kunai.

Sakura looked pleadingly between Sasuke and Tazuna.

Sasuke’s eyes glowed crimson with his sharingan. He watched Kakashi and Zabuza dance around each other, both thinking they were leading. Just the way they moved told him this fight was way beyond a genin. “Sakura’s right. We have a mission to finish and as long as we’re in range, Kakashi can’t go all out.”

“No.” Naruto planted his feet. “Kakashi wouldn’t leave us. We’re not leaving him.”

Kakashi dodged another swing of Zabuza’s sword and landed on the river.    
  


Zabuza grinned behind his bandages. “I know you’re trying to draw me away from the kids. It’s too late.”

The water under Kakashi’s feet erupted. Kakashi managed one deep breath before the water prison sealed over his head.

“All I need is a clone to deal with the brats.”

Kakashi struggled as Zabuza formed the seals with his free hand. 

“Don’t worry. I’m doing your village a favor. In Kiri we know the value of trimming away the weak. Konoha’s never understood. It’s why you’re all weak.”

The clone stepped onto the bank and drew its own sword.

“We’re out of time to run,” Sasuke said.

“Good,” Naruto spat. Without hesitation, his hands flashed through the signs for shadow clone jutsu. A wave of orange surged towards Zabuza’s clone. 

“Who’s scared now?” Naruto yelled, throwing a punch at the clone’s jaw.

The clone just laughed. It swung its sword in a full circle and the clones vanished. The real Naruto leapt back just in time.

“Stupid,” Sasuke mumbled. He launched a volley of shuriken to cover Naruto’s retreat.

“We need to free Kakashi,” Sakura’s voice trembled slightly. “We can’t beat this guy anymore than we could beat Kakashi-sensei.”

Naruto just growled. 

“Whatever we’re doing, we need to do it fast. I don’t think there’s any air in that thing,” Sasuke said. Then he shoved the others out of the way as the clone hurled a handful of kunai at them.

“Bell-test,” Sakura yelled, her face lighting up. 

“Hell yeah,” Naruto grinned. 

“What formation?” Sasuke asked. “Dodge.”

The three evaded another ranged attack. The clone was obviously playing with them. Zabuza was having fun making Kakashi watch this. 

Sasuke thought they could use this to their advantage. The enemy had already decided they weren’t a threat.

“Double bladed transformation,” Sakura called. “I’ve got point.”

Both boys nodded. Naruto created another batch of clones and sent them at the water clone. It was as pointless as the first time, but bought Sasuke enough time to use the summoning scroll on his belt to retrieve a collapsible wind shuriken and for an instant, Zabuza and the clone’s vision was obscured by the smoke of destroyed shadow clones.

When his vision cleared, Sakura was running straight for the beach with Tazuna.

The clone turned to chase them. “Now!” Sakura screamed. 

It should have been an easy throw. The clone was moving in a straight line to cut off the girl, but the dark haired kid missed.

The wind shuriken went wide and then it turned.

Metal wire glinted in the dim light and disturbed the heavy fog.

Zabuza realized the clone wasn’t the target. 

The clone turned and threw a kunai, severing the wire. 

The wind shuriken went wide again, flying past the real Zabuza.

He laughed. 

The clone turned back to Sakura only to find the girl driving a kunai into its chest. “Now Naruto!” Sakura screamed.

There was a pop behind Zabuza. He turned his head in time to see a blur of orange hurtling towards him. He registered the metallic glint of a kunai. The angle was bad. The only way to block was with his right arm, the one supporting the water prison.

Zabuza blocked on instinct. His arm slammed into Naruto’s stomach and threw the kid back onto the bank. 

“Cute, but playtime’s over,” Zabuza snarled.

“But I was just getting started,” Kakashi interrupted, stepping between Naruto and the swordsman.

Kakashi was breathing hard and soaking wet, but he squared his shoulders and leveled Zabuza with a glare that could and had killed.

“You okay Naruto?”

“Yeah. Need a hand?” 

“Nah. I got this guy figured out. Stay with Tazuna.”

Zabuza didn’t like being ignored. He formed the signed for another water prison, but the water didn’t obey his command. 

  
Kakashi smirked, the same seal on his hand.

Zabuza growled. “Your copies can’t match the real thing.”

But they did. Each attack was met with its equal. As fast as Zabuza signed, Kakashi matched him.

Then, Kakashi went a little bit faster.

Zabuza’s water dragon was half formed when Kakashi’s water dragon crashed through it and slammed into Zabuza.

The swordsman was knocked against the tree. He fell to his knees, gasping. He had at least 3 broken ribs and his chakra stores were sorely depleted. He’d put too much into those first clones, not expecting this level of resistance.

“It’s over,” Kakashi said. His voice was cold. He drew back a kunai. It would be a clean kill.

The senbon came out of nowhere, beating Kakashi to the kill.

The hunter-nin appeared in a blur between Kakashi and Zabuza. “You’re right. It is over,” the hunter said.

Kakashi froze, kunai still raised and adrenaline humming through his veins. Then, Kakashi nodded. He stepped back and lowered his weapon.

The hunter-nin nodded. “Is your team alright?”

“Sound off,” Kakashi called.

“We’re all okay,” Sakura yelled.

The hunter-nin nodded again. “Good. I’ve been trailing Zabuza for sometime. This is the first time I haven’t arrived too late. Your team must be formidable.”

“Lucky. He underestimated us and we know how to use that.”

Kakashi could feel the adrenaline fading to be replaced by exhaustion.

“Luck or skill. I’m glad he was not responsible for the death of a Konoha shinobi. If you'll excuse me, I need to finish cleaning up his mess.”

Kakashi just nodded and watched the hunter lift Zabuza’s corpse onto their shoulders.

Then the hunter-nin was gone in a rush of air.

“Hey! What’s going on?!”

Kakashi sighed. Of course Naruto was yelling. 

“It’s fine Naruto. It’s…” Kakashi trailed off. The world was spinning. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Kakashi fell to his knees. He coughed until he vomited water. He could hear the kids yelling. Feel someone’s hand on his shoulders. The edges of his vision were dark and the center was too bright. 

Kakashi’s eyes closed and collapsed. He knew nothing else.

Naturo shook Kakashi’s shoulder. “WAKE UP! WAKE UP!” He kept yelling. Tears and snot ran down his face. 

“Stop it Naruto!” Sasuke grabbed Naruto and dragged the struggling blond away from Kakashi. “You’re not helping!”

“He has to wake up!” Naruto sodded.

While Sasuke struggled with Naruto in the mud, Sakura and Tazuna knelt beside Kakashi.

“Help me roll him over,” Tazuna said. “If he’s swallowed a lot of water, we’ll need to clear his lungs.” Tazuna had dealt with enough drownings to recognize the signs.

Sakura helped with shaking hands. She watched as Tazun a pressed an ear to Kakashi’s chest and then began compressions.

Kakashi coughed and spat up another mouthful of water.

“His lungs sound clearer,” Tazuna said. “He seems to be breathing okay now.”

Sakura nodded and felt for his pulse like they’d taught at the academy. It was light and too fast. “I think he used too much chakra,” Sakura whispered.

Tazuna shook his head. “I don’t know what you do for that.”

Sakura grabbed for the pouch on Kakashi’s belt that he’d gotten the soldier pills from the day before. With shaking hand, she fished one out and crushed it in her palm. “Can you fold his mouth open?” Sakura asked.

Tazuna carefully tilted Kakashi’s head back and held his mouth open. Sakura sprinkled the crushed soldier pill into her sensei’s mouth. “”I think that will help.” She didn’t add  _ if he swallows it _ outloud. “But he needs a doctor.”

“The closet will be in town.”

Sakura nodded. She stood up. Her vision was blurry. She was shaking from a mix of exhaustion and adrenaline. She swore she could still feel the water clone breathing down her neck. 

The boys were tangled in the mud. As Sakura watched, Naruto got the leverage to flip them over and swung a punch at Sasuke.

“STOP IT!” Sakura screamed. 

Naruto froze. 

Sasuke took the opportunity to buck Naruto off and throw a punch of his own.

Then Sakura was in between them. 

“Stop fighting,” Sakura sobbed. “I can’t do this without you, so just stop.”

Sasuke let his fists relax.

“Is he okay?” Sasuke asked in a trembling voice.

“He needs a doctor. We have to get him to Tazuna’s village,” Sakura said. She wiped her eyes, but a fresh wave of tears made it pointless. 

“What do we do?” Naruto asked. He was still tensed for a fight, but his voice was very small and very scared sounding.

Tazuna could only watch in horror as the soldiers turned back into children. They were so small, covered in blood, mud, snot, and tears.

“Maybe we could make a litter or something out of branches?” Sasuke suggested. He was already looking around. The fight had done a fair bit of damage to the area. There were plenty of broken branches. 

No one else had a better idea. The boys and Tazuna quickly gather a dozen branches and used the rest of Sasuke’s shuriken wire to tie them together. Sakura stayed by Kakashi with her fingers on his pulse. She thought it might seem a bit stronger.

Kakashi was heavier than he looked.

The 4 of them took turns pulling the litter a dozen yards at a time. It felt like they’d never reach the beach.

In reality, it only took 10 minutes. Then Tazuna lit a lantern on the shore and they had to wait another 10 for the boat to arrive.

“It wouldn’t have done us any good to run,” Naruto muttered. He was pressed against Kakashi’s side, hugging his knees to his chest.

Sakura just nodded. She stood beside Tazuna, scanning the horizon for a boat. 

Sasuke sat a little bit away from Naruto and Kakashi, but he didn’t take his eyes off them.

“He’ll be okay,” Sasuke said. 

Naruto glared. 

“He promised,” Sasuke added. “He won’t leave us.”

Naruto looked away.

Kakashi’s words echoed in Sasuke’s mind and made his eyes fill with tears, because that wasn’t exactly what Kakashi had said. 

“I promise I will do everything in my power to come back,” Kakashi said it every time he left for a mission when they were in the academy. 

_ What if your best isn’t enough _ ? Sasuke thought. He looked at Naruto and Kakashi again and suppressed a shudder. Nothing about this mission was going to plan.

“I see the boat!” Sakura called. 

  
Sasuke forced himself to his feet.  _ Just a bit further. We can do it. _

_ \--- _

Naruto sat in the flat bottomed part of the boat beside Kakashi instead of on the wooden benches. 

Naruto hadn’t really seen a dead body before, Zabuza and the other shinobi didn’t really count because they’d only just barely stopped being alive-- they didn’t look dead yet. But Naruto imagined Kakashi looked pretty close to dead. He was too pale, skin stark against his mask.

Naruto nudged Kakashi’s forehead protector back into place over Kakashi’s sharingan, just so he had an excuse to feel Kakashi’s breath. 

Naruto drew back his hand. 

The bandages were disgusting, soaked with blood and mud. 

Naruto tugged them off on impulse. The scab ripped off with the bandage and a fresh wave of blood rolled down Naruto’s fingers. There was less than last time, the wound was at least half healed.

The stinging pain grounded Naruto. He pressed his other thumb over the wound and silently snarled at the spike of pain. 

Naruto focused on that pain, let it drown out the ache in his chest, let it bury the voice that whispered,  _ You’re a coward. You’ve fought 2 shinobi in your life and both times someone else had to save you. You’re too weak. Kakashi’s going to die because of you. Sasuke and Sakura too. Everyone will leave you again. _

Naruto dug his thumb into the wound, reopening it deeper. This time a sob slipped out of his lips.

“Never again,” Naruto whispered.  _ Never again will I freeze. No one else will ever get hurt because I'm a coward.  _

The man who picked them up looked at the ragged group and nudged Tazuna.

“Are these really shinobi?” 3 of them weren’t even teenagers yet. All 3 of them looked like they’d been crying recently, something it was said a shinobi couldn't do. The blond one was actively reopening a wound and muttering like some sort of lunatic. The dark haired one had glowing red eyes and a thousand yard stare. The girl was clutching a kunai and every few seconds she flinched and checked over her shoulder, like she expected the sea itself to grab her. As for the adult, he looked half dead and was unconscious when the kids dumped him in the boat.

Tazuna nodded. “They look like kids, but they aren’t like our kids. I watched them kill 3 men twice their age and they just survived a fight with rogue shinobi from the bingo book.”

The captain whistled softly. Only criminals of the highest caliber ended up in the bingo book of wanted men distributed by the elemental nations. They were the sort of people that if you ran into them, you gave them what they wanted and prayed they didn’t kill you just for fun.

On the horizon a structure rose above the waves. Against the odds, they’d reached their destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And at this point, shit starts to get real. I changed the Zabuza fight a little bit. I never really understood what the purpose of the rabbit was and my Sakura, while not anywhere as physical of a fighter as the boys, isn't passive (that always drove me nuts in the anime especially) so I made her a more active participant in the fight. Over the course of this arc and the chuunin exam arc, one of the big character points I'm working on is re-establishing the strengths and weaknesses of the main trio, so you can expect to see other similar changes. The trio are hopefully going to end up a bit more balanced and natural feeling than they do in canon (no one's dead weight and no one is perfect).
> 
> The whole thing with the bell-test and the formation that Sakura picks at the end of the fight will be explained next chapter. 
> 
> Fair warning, I'm going to skim over some parts of this arc. IE: I'll touch on Zabuza's backstory, but I won't devote the equivalent to whole episode to it. Those parts happen as they do in the anime and manga. I really don't love this arc as much as I should considering it was my jumping on point for Naruto and middle school me was kind of obsessed with the whole protect what you love quote. I think my issue is with the pacing of the anime, so I'll be playing with that too (hence the skimming). I also feel like the reasons the characters behave the way they do/their emotional states weren't well explained canon (especially Naruto and Sasuke's fighting), so that's where most of my changes will be focused.


	3. Chapter 3

Kakashi woke up slowly. There was sunlight on his face and he was warm. In the distance birds were chirping and the dull roar of the waves was a soothing drone. If it weren’t for the fact that everything hurt, Kakashi might have worried he’d died and gone to heaven.. 

Kakashi forced his uncovered eye open. He was staring up at a wooden ceiling. The sunlight was coming from a small window. The blue curtains were pulled half way open.

Kakashi turned his head. He was on a low bed in a small room. A familiar figure was sitting in a wooden chair. Sakura had her head buried in a book. 

Kakashi figured it was why she’d opened the curtains a bit. The room was otherwise dark.

“Where are we?” Kakashi asked. His voice was raw and talking hurt.

Saukra slammed her book shut and was on her feet in an instant.; “He’s awake!” she yelled.

Kakashi groaned, he could hear a familiar set of footsteps and that was all the warning he had before Naruto burst into the room and all but launched himself onto Kakashi.

Kakashi decided the pain was worth it. Naruto was sobbing and clinging to Kakashi’s shirt. 

Kakashi wrapped his arms around Naruto’s shoulders. “Easy,” he soothed. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

Naruto just sobbed harder.

“You had us worried,” Sasuke said.

Kakashi glanced over to see the Uchiha leaning against the doorframe, a small, tight smile on his face.

Sakura nodded. 

Kakashi signed and ran his hand through Naruto’s hair. “I’m sorry I worried you.”

Naruto sniffled and swallowed down his sobs. He pulled away from Kakashi’s grip and gave Kakashi a watery smile. 

“So fill me in. Are you all okay? Where are we? How long was I out?”

“We’re all okay. Some bumps and bruises, but they’re healing,” Sasuke supplied. He was sporting a wicked black eye.

Kakashi frowned behind his mask. Naruto was sitting on the edge of the bed, but Sakura was hovering by the chair like she was unsure if she was allowed to be a part of this and Sasuke was firmly rooted to the doorway with a sadness on his face that made Kakashi very nervous.

Kakashi forced himself to sit and sooted on the bed until he could rest his back against the wall. “Why don’t you guys shut the door and come here? I won’t bite and Naruto has already proven that you won’t break me.”

Sakura didn’t need to be told twice. She plopped down on the edge of the bed beside Naruto and beamed at Kakashi. “I’m glad you’re awake. Don’t your ribs hurt though?”

Kakashi shrugged.

“Tazuna was pretty sure he might have cracked a couple getting the water out of your chest,” Sakura added.

Naruto looked horrified.

“That explains a lot actually,” Kakashi mused. He glanced back towards the door. 

Sasuke had pulled it shut, but he was lingering just inside. 

Kakashi waved for Sasuke and the Uchiha crossed the room, dragging his feet. He sat on the other side of Sakura from Naruto and stared at the floorboards.

Kakashi didn’t like that at all.

“So what happened?” Kakashi pressed. The only way forward was to figure out what had happened.

Naruto just shuffled closer to Kakashi, so he could lean his head on the jounin’s shoulder.

Sakura glanced between her teammates and realized this part was up to her.

Sakura took a deep breath before launching into the story. “You collapsed and when we got to you, you weren’t breathing. Tazuna guessed that you must have breathed in water while Zabuza had you in that jutsu. He performed CPR and you coughed up a bunch of water. Your heart rate was really light and fast and you were pale, which are the primary symptoms of chakra exhaustion, so we gave you a soldier pill,” Sakura paused and smoothed the quilt beside her. “We used some branches to try and help get you to the boat, but we sort of half carried and half dragged you. You’re heavier than you look.”

And that explained the rest of the aches and pains Kakashi was noticing.

“I take it we’re in the land of waves?” Kakashi clarified.

Sakura nodded. “This is Tazuna’s house. We got you here and his daughter brought a doctor to look at you. He gave you some medicine to help you breathe and keep you from getting an infection. You’ve been asleep for 3 days.”

Kakashi winced. No wonder they were so worried. 

“What have you 3 been up to?”

“Helping Tazuna and his family,” Sakura said. “Tazuna goes to the bridge everyday and we’ve been taking turns escorting him. And watching you. When it’s not my turn to watch someone, I’ve been helping Tsunami around the house.” She left out the fact that Naruto spent every minute he wasn’t with Tazuna with Kakashi (he’d only been out of the room because Sakura insisted he go eat) and that if Sasuke wasn’t with the bridge builder, he had stayed just outside Kakashi’s room.

Kakashi nodded. “Good work. I’m proud of you for taking the initiative and continuing the mission.”

Sakura beamed and both boys ducked their head a little bit. 

The door clocked open and Tazuna stuck his head in. “I heard you were awake. Good to see it!”

Kakashi nodded. “If you have a minute, I was hoping we could talk.”

“Of course. Sasuke and I just got back from the bridge. My daughter, Tsunami, is getting dinner ready. It’ll be done in an hour or so. You want to talk now or after?”

Kakashi gently nudged Naruto off of him. “How about you guys go help with dinner?” He didn’t say it like a suggestion.

The kids trickled out slowly. Sakura all but shoved the boys out the door they were dragging their feet so bad.

When the door shut behind the genin, Tazuna pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down facing Kakashi. 

Kakashi held up his hand, silently asking for a minute. With the kids gone, he let himself take stock of his injuries. At least 1 of his ribs was definitely broken and his chest burned with every breath. Kakashi put a hand to his side, trying to stabilize the rib just a bit. He could hardly breathe.

Tazuna sighed as he watched. “Didn’t want them to see how bad you’re hurting?”

  
“They worried enough,” Kakashi said through gritted teeth.

Tazuna nodded. “That they did. Blond one slept on the floor in here and the dark one slept outside the door. Tsunami kept trying to put them in real beds, but they always ended up back here. The girl did good though, kept everyone functioning. Real mother hen that one.”

Kakashi smiled at that. “That’s why I picked her. Needed someone steady to balance the other two.” He shifted again and winced.

“We don’t have much for pain medicine here. Gatou and his men horde the stuff.”

Kakashi nodded. “For the best. I’d prefer to have all wits about me even if it means a bit of suffering.” With another grunt, Kakashi felt the rib settle back where it belonged and the pain leveled off.

“I asked you if you had kids. I misinterpreted your answer, didn’t I?” Tazuna asked softly.

“That obvious?”

“The boys at least. I saw my grandson lose his father. I know the look, the fear.”

Kakashi shuddered. “I took Naruto in when he was a baby. He lost his parents the day he was born. They were both shinobi. Sasuke’s the last of the Uchiha clan. He ended up with me after the massacre. He was only 6.”

Tazuna paled. “I heard his name and I wondered, but I wasn’t sure. We heard the story here, but news like that tends to be exaggerated by the time it makes it this far.” He leaned back in his chair. “His whole clan… damn. No wonder they cling to you like that.”

Kakashi just tilted his head to the side as if to ask who Tazuna was to judge. 

“I don’t mean any offense by it. It’s just that shinobi have a reputation for being hard and cold. You hear all sorts of rumors about what the hidden villages do to remove emotions from their kids. It’s a pretty common belief that shinobi can’t cry.”

Kakashi shook his head and made a disgusted noise. “Fucking propaganda. We hear the same shit in our villages. All it does is hurt people.” Kakashi’s voice was bitter. Partly because stupid beliefs and patly because he knew he was going to have to teach his team to live up that reputation sooner than he’d hoped he would.

Tazuna flinched. He hadn’t expected the shinobi’s cold anger.

Kakashi shook his head again, like he was trying to shake off the thought. “It’s not important right now. We need to talk about where the mission goes from here.”

“It’s over. I’m home.”

“I wish it was that simple. You’re still in danger and the people coming after you aren’t the sort that your friends here can protect you from. We leave now, you’ll be dead before the bridge is ever finished.”

Tazuna opened and shut his mouth several times before speaking. “I was under the impression that staying on to protect me was the last thing you would consider. I lied and your team nearly died because of it.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, that was stupid of you and I’m pissed, but a lot less pissed than I’d be if it was one of the genin who’d gotten hurt.”

Tazuna nodded. He understood that.  
  


“This bridge is important. It’ll save your country and then the rest of the bridges you build will connect the world in a way it’s never been connected before. The benefits to trade and intercountry relations will be huge. Konoha has a vested interest in the rest of those bridges getting built. I don’t know why the hokage didn’t assign an anbu team to you, but he didn’t and the 4 of us are the best you’re going to get at this point.”

Tazuna didn’t know what to say. He just dipped his head in thanks. 

\---

Kakashi made it to the dinner table with a little help and went back to bed right after. He’d noticed some sort of tension between Sasuke and Naruto and the genin and Tazuna’s grandson. 

Kakashi was too tired and sore to try to figure it out over dinner. He’d had worse injuries before, but it had been a while and the lack of adequate medical care was slowing his recovery. He took another soldier pill, hoping it would speed up his chakra recovery and that once his chakra was replenished it would speed up the physical recovery.

As darkness settled, Kakashi could feel 3 chakra signatures lurking downstairs after Tazuna and his family had retreated upstairs. 

“I know you’re out there,” Kakashi called.

His door creaked open and three genin filed in. 

Kakashi leveled them all with a firm stare. Sasuke and Naruto both looked half dead on their feet. “Sasuke, Naruto, I know you were given beds somewhere. Go use them.” His tone left no room for argument and the boys shuffled out.

Sakura shifted on her feet, unsure if she was supposed to follow.

“I’m sure you’re tired too,” Kakashi said, “But I need to know what happened between the 2 of them while I was out.”

Sakura let out a sigh of relief and dropped into the chair. “I’m really glad you asked, because Sasuke asked me not to mention it, but if you ask I can’t lie to you. You’re my sensei.”

  
Kakashi snorted, that was his Sakura.

“When you collapsed, Naruto was the first one to get to you,” Sakura started. She fiddled with the hem of her dress and then suddenly looked up to meet Kakashi’s gaze. “It looked like you were dead. We all thought you were dead except for Tazuna and Naruto wouldn’t let him touch you. Sasuke had to drag Naruto away and they fought while Tazuna and I helped you.”

Kakashi swallowed hard. He could picture it so easily.

“It was bad,” Sakura said softly. “Naruto gave Sasuke a black eye and Sasuke split his lip, but Naruto healed already. Naruto’s not talking to Sasuke and Sasuke just stays a little bit out of reach all the time. Neither of them wanted to leave you.” 

Kakashi closed his eyes. There was a lot to unpack there. The boys were close. They’d known each other their whole lives. They’d gone from friends to siblings far more easily than Kakashi had expected, but siblings fight under the best of circumstances. These were not the best of circumstances and Kakashi figured this whole ordeal had brought some insecurities to the surface. 

“Thank you,” Kakashi said softly.

Sakura nodded. “I was worried too.” She stared down at her hands. “I felt helpless and I cried. I know I’m not like Sasuke and Naruto, so I should have been able to control myself better. I didn't do a very good job acting like a shinobi.”

Kakashi’s heart broke a little bit more with each word. _Not like Sasuke and Naruto. She means she’s not mine_. 

“Sakura,” Kakashi called softly.

Sakura kept her eyes on her lap.

“Sakura,” Kakashi put a bit more force behind it.

Sakura looked up. There were unshed tears in her eyes and her chin trembled slightly.

“You’re mine too,” he said. “I know you have your family in Konoha, but you also have a family in Team 7.”

Sakura pressed her lips together and nodded.

“It’s okay to cry,” Kakashi said.

Sakura sniffled.

“Yes, part of being a shinobi is learning to bury your feelings and hide your emotions behind a mask. It protects you on missions, when you’re on your own surrounded by people who see you as a representative of Konoha, a potential ally, or an enemy. I know what they teach in the academy.”

Sakura nodded again. The first tear slid down her cheek.

“Look at me,” Kakashi ordered. “In my experience the academy’s stance on this is too black and white. Emotions are only a weakness if you let them be. Right now, you’re safe and there’s only family here to see you, so it’s okay to let yourself feel.”

Sakura whimpered.

When Kakashi held out his hand, she was out of the chair in a heartbeat, letting him pull her into a hug. 

Sakura was careful not to squeeze too tight.

“I’ll do better next time,” Sakura whispered.

Kakashi just patted her head. “I’m proud of you. It took a lot of courage to choose to continue the mission and a lot of strength to lead the team.”

Sakura cried harder.

It took several minutes for Sakura to settle down and then Kakashi was left with an exhausted, puffy-eyed little girl. “Go to bed,” Kakashi ordered gently. 

Sakura nodded and Kakashi was left alone with his thought and his broken rib.

Kakashi knew he was going to have to tell them the mission wasn’t over, that there was a strong possibility Zabuza wasn’t dead, that they’d have to face the man again and chances were he wouldn’t be alone this time. But, that could wait until morning. They all needed to sleep one night through without fear sitting on their shoulders.

If Kakashi was right, Zabuza would need time to heal. Senbon were rarely lethal, but they hurt like a bastard and when they pierced muscles and nerves (like a strike to the neck would) they put you in the hospital for a week at least. Here, with no real hospital, Zabuza would be down for longer. They could afford one night of easy sleep.

\---

Kakashi sent Tazuna to the bridge alone the next morning, but promised one of them would be there by lunch.

When the genin made their way downstairs a few hours later, they were all sleep mussed and confused. 

Over breakfast, Kakashi explained the situation.

“I thought that guy was suspicious,” Naruto growled. “I mean he wasn’t much older than us. How could he be a hunter-nin? Those are basically anbu, right?”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss him,” Kakashi warned. “To use senbon like that requires incredible skill.”

Naruto frowned. “Are there really people our age who are that strong?”

Kakashi nodded. 

Naruto looked up and to Kakashi’s surprise, Naruto ws grinning. It was a predatory smile, too much incisor and a tint of red in his blue eyes. “If he’s smart, he won’t come back. This time we’re going to be ready for him, right?”  
  


Kakashi glanced at the other 2.   
  
Sakura was biting her knuckle, thinking.

Sasuke had a far away look in his eyes, but he nodded. Kakashi had the feeling Sasuke was thinking of a different protege. Itachi had been in the anbu at 11. 

Naruto grinned a bit wider and looked at Kakashi expectantly. 

It sent a thrill down Kakashi’s spine. He thought back on the situation Sakura had described. They were very lucky Naruto had maintained his control. 

“We’ll certainly be more prepared,” Kakashi said. “Come on, we’re wasting time. There’s training to be done.” 

\---

So walking up the side of a tree like it was nothing just about depleted all of the chakra Kakashi had managed to recover, but it was worth it to see three jaws hit the floor. Kakashi would have laughed if laughing didn’t hurt.

“Improving your chakra control is the fastest way to improve. You’ll find jutsus easier to use and you'll have more stamina overall just by virtue of using the right amount of chakra in the right way,” Kakashi explained.

Naruto beamed. “I’ve been wanting to learn this forever!”

Kakashi just rolled his eyes and watched as Naruto took a running start at the nearest tree.

Naruto made it one step before falling on his butt. 

“Not enough chakra,” Kakashi said. “Next?”

Sasuke shrugged and followed Naruto’s example, sprinting at a tree. He made it 8 steps. Each step was slower and heavier than the last and accompanied by an audible cracking noise. When Sasuke landed back on the ground, his footprints were left embedded in the trunk.

“Too much chakra,” Kakashi said. “Next.”

Sakura nodded, took a deep breath, and charged the tree. One step, she wobbled. Two steps, there was a crunch. The third she wobbled again and stumbled. The fourth step was perfect and she found her rhythm, all the way to the first branch a good 15 feet in the air.

“And that’s what we’re looking for boys,” Kakashi said with a grin.

Naruto and Sasuke were both just staring.

Sakura waved down at them.

“Sakura. You’ve got the first shift watching Tazuna. I’ll take over at lunch,” Kakashi yelled up.

Sakura nodded and then frowned.

“So how do you get down?” she yelled back.

“Same way you got up there. It feels scarier, but it’s not any harder.”

Sakura sprinted down the tree and Kakashi was pretty sure she closed her eyes, but overall it was good work. Really good work. He hadn’t expected any of them to have the control to pull it off first try.

“Alright, see you guys tonight,” Kakashi said to the boys. 

\---

Naruto and Sasuke made little progress. They worked in silence. Naruto found himself oscillating between too little and too much, just like in every other ninjutsu. Unlike his multi shadow clone jutsu this wasn’t something he could get away with throwing gobs of chakra at.

Sasuke struggled to feel the chakra in his feet. He was sending too much chakra to his feet, because any less and it felt like it wouldn’t get there. He hadn’t expected it to be this hard. Learning to send the right amount of chakra to his eyes had been nearly instinctive. THis was far from it.

By late afternoon, Sasuke was exhausted. 

Naruto was frustrated and physically drained, but his chakra reserves seemed unbothered. 

There was a tension in the air, like the electricity before a lightning strike. 

Sasuke wondered if Naruto realized he was using the demon’s chakra, or if it came natural to him now, after the seal was fixed years ago. Naruto didn’t talk about the details of being a jinchuuriki often. Sasuke didn’t ask. He knew today especially would be bad timing.

“We should call it a day,” Sasuke said at last. 

Naruto just glared at him and took another run at the tree. 6 steps up the tree he slipped and fell, landing hard enough to know the wind out of him.

Sasuke walked over and stared down at Naruto. “You might have the chakra to keep going, but your body needs rest,” he said at last. Sasuke nudged Naruto gently with his toe.

Naruto rolled onto his side so he wasn’t looking at Sasuke.

The Uchiha sighed and plopped down in the grass beside Naruto.

“I know you’re mad at me, but you went a little nuts and you weren’t listening so I did what I had to do. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings or your pride or whatever, but I stand by what I did. Kakashi’d be dead if Tazuna hadn’t got the water out of his lungs.”

Naruto stiffened.

The air seemed to buzz. 

“You’re not better than me,” Naruto hissed. 

Sasuke flinched. “We’re both sitting here because we can’t climb a damn tree. Neither one of us gets any bragging rights,” he snapped back.

Naruto sat up and swiveled to face Sasuke.

“That’s not what I mean. You’re not better because he had to save me. You’re not better because you killed someone. You’re not better because of your eyes,” Naruto snapped. “It won’t happen again. I won’t freeze up. I’ll be stronger.”

A thrill ran down Sasuke’s spine. The chakra rolling off of Naruto was downright menacing.

“And next time you won’t get a chance to use those eyes.” The voice almost didn’t sound like Naruto.

“What are you…” Sasuke trailed off. The pieces suddenly clicked into place. When he and Naruto were fighting, Naruto had been struggling for control. The demon’s chakra had been noticeable then too. It had vanished when Sasuke and his sharingan pinned Naruto. “I didn’t genjutsu you,” Sasuke said. “I… I don’t even know how to do that yet.”

Naruto looked away. “I don’t know if I believe that. Kurama says I shouldn’t trust you. They put us together so you could control me.”

Sasuke swallowed hard. “It probably is why they put us together,” he admitted. “But they’re stupid. You kept control of the Fox all on your own. I know you can and I trust you.” Sasuke shifted. “I wasn’t even thinking about the Fox when we were fighting. I just didn’t want you to deck Tazuna. You probably weren’t even thinking about the Fox either. You’ve gotten so good at it that you do it on instinct.” Sasuke covered one of his eyes. “It’s the same with the sharingan. It’s becoming instinctive, like dodging a kunai.”

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a mixture of hope and heartbreak in his eyes. “I’m not weak. I’m not a monster.”

Sasuke nodded. “No, you’re not.”

Naruto smiled then.

“I promise I’ll never use my sharingan to control you,” Sasuke added. He locked eyes with Naruto and made sure the blond knew he meant it. It didn’t matter why they’d been put together. What mattered was that they were a team. They were friends. 

The demon’s chakra faded. “Kurama says I’m an idiot, but I trust you too,” Naruto said.

Sasuke relaxed then, too. “I mean I can’t really disagree with that. If we let you you’d eat nothing but ramen and die of scurvy and you want to be the hokage. Both clear indications that you’re a few kunais short of a full set,” Sasuke teased.

Naruto snorted and flopped back on the ground.

“So is this why you’ve been mad at me? You thought I genjutsued you and didn’t trust you?” Sasuke asked.

“Of course. Why else would I be mad?”

“I don’t know,” Sasuke lied. He climbed to his feet with a groan. 

“Come on. Get up. I bet it's dinner time.”

Naruto eventually let himself be prodded to his feet and the boys limped home.

“I take it Kurama is the Fox’s name?” Sasuke asked after a minute.

“Yeah. He’s grouchy and he doesn’t like Uchihas, but I think it’s because he’s been through a lot. I guess if you live forever it kind of makes sense that you end up grouchy and you don’t trust people,” Naruto explained.

“Do you talk to him a lot?”

“Not really. He mostly just watches, but sometimes he comments during training and missions. I try to talk to him everyday, but he doesn’t usually say anything back,” Naruto explained. “One of these days I’m going to win him over.”

Sasuke nodded and decided not to question why Naruto wanted to make friends with the demon living in his head. It sounded crazy, but it also sounded like Naruto.

“I’m still going to beat you to the top of the tree,” Naruto said.

“I didn’t know we were racing.” 

Naruto punched Sasuke’s shoulder, affectionately. “It’s always a race.” Then Naruto took off at a jog.

Sasuke growled under his breath and forced his legs to move faster. Like hell he was going to lose. Every step was another chance to get stronger, to know when the time came he could save his family. Even if Naruto swore he wouldn’t need saved, Sasuke swore he’d be ready. He wasn’t losing another family.

\---

Kakashi smiled into his bowl of soup. It was just Team 7 left around the table. Tazuna and Tsunami had left early for a village meeting and Tsunami’s son, Inari continued to make himself scarce. Kakashi had the odd feeling the boy didn’t like shinobi. 

Kakashi wasn’t overly concerned with it. His boys had returned from training in good spirits despite not making it up the trees. They seemed to have worked through whatever they were struggling with and were back to their usual competitive selves, trading teasing barbs between gulps of food. Kakashi was pretty sure they were in an unspoken competition to eat the most.

“You guys need to hurry up and figure out tree climbing, so we can factor it into our plans,” Sakura ordered. 

Naruto and Sasuke both paused and then grinned. 

“Oh man, we are going to be so awesome,” Naruto breathed.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “Plans?”

Sakura just waved off the question. “It’s nothing to worry about, just making sure we’re ready for the next time you decide to spring a surprise assessment on us.”

It took Kakashi a second to figure it out. “You’re still grumpy about the bell test?” he guessed.

“Who gives an exam without time to study?!” Naruto yelled and the genin erupted into overlapping, indignant agreement. “Especially one with those kinds of stakes!”

Kakashi laughed until he was doubled over clutching his chest. “The whole point was that you couldn’t study.”

“Well we’re studying now,” Naruto replied.

Kakashi just laughed harder. 

\---

Kakashi caught Sasuke while Naruto was in the bathroom getting ready for bed and Sakura had already disappeared upstairs. “You okay?” Kakashi asked.

Sasuke nodded. “It was a misunderstanding.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. 

“Naruto’s upset that he needed help with the chuunin and that he froze when Zabuza attacked.”

Kakashi nodded. It made sense that Naruto would beat himself up over that. It was his first chance to prove himself and in his mind he'd blown it. Never mind the fact that he'd put up a good fight against the chuunin and that Zabuza was something of a special circumstance. The first time you faced someone of that level, the sheer force of their chakra was terrifying. Sakura froze too. Sure Sasuke didn't freeze, and that undoubtably made Naruto judge himself harsher. But it should be noted that Sasuke had also faced down Naruto cloaked in the Fox's chakra at 7 years old, and Zabuza called himself a demon, but he didn't hold a candle to the uncontrolled rage and power of a real demon.

“Then, Naruto thought I used genjutsu to control him and the Fox. I didn’t, but he thought I did, and he decided that meant I didn’t trust him to control the Fox or have my back in a fight or anything else,” Sasuke added.

“Did you use genjutsu on him?” 

Sasuke shook his head. “He reined it back in all on his own. i didn't even notice he was struggling at the time.”

Kakashi let out a relieved breath. If Naruto had lost control to that point, they had big problems. “And what about you? How are you feeling? He hit you pretty good.” Kakashi gestured at the black eye, just starting to fade to a sickly shade of yellow around the edges.

Sasuke hesitated. “I thought Naruto blamed me for you getting hurt. I know it’s not true, but because I dragged him away and he was so worried I can understand why he’d hate me for that…” Sasuke trailed off and shifted uncomfortably under Kakashi’s stare. “I’m not a part of your family the same way he is. I thought I might not be welcome anymore…” Sasuke trailed off again, unsure how to explain.

Kakashi sighed and pulled Sasuke into a hug. 

  
The Uchiha leaned against him, but didn’t hug back. 

Sasuke lost his whole world when he was 6. It made perfect sense that he’d have anxieties about losing the new life he’d made. Just like it made sense that he was fiercely independent, stubborn, proud, and slow to let people into his heart. The whole situation was so familiar to Kakashi it hurt. 

“You’re family,” Kakashi said firmly. The next words slipped out of Kakashi’s mouth without a thought. “You’re stuck with us. Sometimes families fight, but they’re still family.” In the back of his mind, he could see Minato’s smirk. He’d said it to Kakashi almost like a threat. _You’re stuck with us. No matter what._

Sasuke nodded and then pulled away. “In my head I knew that, but sometimes…” he put a hand over his chest. “Sometimes I doubt it even though I know I shouldn’t.”

Kakashi ruffled Sasuke’s hair. “You’re stuck with us,” he repeated. 

Sasuke smiled then. “Thanks Kakashi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it too obvious that all I want in life is for people to talk to each other? (I really hope this didn't feel as heavy handed to you guys as it did to me, I've written and rewritten this story in my head too many times to tell anymore...) 
> 
> The fact that no one gets mad and vents or demands explanations or even tries to understand someone else's position is my biggest complaint with cannon pre-shippuden. Like a good 30% of the problems were because no one talked to each other (kind of to an unrealistic level) and it made the characters feel static. Like the lengths Naruto is willing to go to for Sasuke really only makes sense if he actually talks to and builds a relationship with him and we see more of that relationship in shippuden than we do as it is supposedly happening in Naruto. Am I going to solve all 30% of those issues in this AU? Definitely not. Am I going to solve some of them so I can replace them with better problems? Absolutely!


	4. Chapter 4

The next day followed the same pattern. Kakashi sent the boys off to climb trees while he and Sakura shadowed Tazuna.

Come lunch time, the boys still had made little progress.

Sakura took pity on them and brought lunch. For a minute, she stayed out of sight and just watched. It was interesting to see the difference between them. Naruto was treating it like an all or none situation. He lacked the balance and finesse, but no two attempts looked exactly the same. 

Sasuke was objectively closer, but he made the same mistake every time. Sakura could see him stick with each step and then apply more chakra until he crushed the bark. Sasuke lacked confidence. If he’d just trust he’d be there. 

Sakura decided Naruto would probably figure it out first, but only because Sasuke was being too stubborn to let go of the strategy that sort of worked

Sakura stepped into the clearing and set a bundle of sandwiches on the ground. “Will the two of you hurry!” Sakura teased. 

Sasuke huffed and turned his attention back to the tree.

Sakura stifled a snicker and turned to leave.

“Hey, Sakura!” Naruto jogged to catch up to her. “Do you have any tips?”

Sakura’s eyes widened and then she smiled. “Remember way back when we first started doing the obstacle course at the academy?”

Naruto nodded. 

“It’s like doing the balance beam. You’re leaning too far one way and then over correcting.”

Naruto frowned. “So how do you make smaller changes?”

“Remember the tricks Iruka Sensei taught us for balancing on the beam?”

“Not really…”

Sakura sighed. “Each step needs to be gentle and controlled, but also placed with confidence. Bend your knees a little bit and focus on your contact point, not your whole foot and not your whole body. If your shoulders are tipping, you’re already too far gone.”

Naruto was still frowning, but he nodded. “Thanks Sakura.”

\---

Naruto knew he was off balance, under and over shooting. Most of what Sakura said wasn’t revolutionary, but the bit about focusing on your contact point resonated.

Naruto took a few minutes walking around, just thinking about what walking felt like. He found a fallen tree and walked across it. 

When Naruto finally stood back in front of his tree, he called his chakra and focused it on just the balls of his feet. When he ran at the tree, there was no crunching noise. The area of focus was too small to generate that sort of crushing force even with excess chakra. The problem was it was unstable, like going from walking on a wide beam to a tightrope and if his concentration wavered even slightly it wasn’t enough to stick.

Naruto didn’t make it up the tree, but he did beat Sasuke’s best run by 2 steps. The blond landed back on the ground and grinned. In math, another variable meant a bigger problem, but here it meant Naruto had another way of fine tuning his control. If his body only dealt with chakra in bulk, Naruto figured he could offset it by focusing on how he expelled it, like a sink faucet vs a firehose.

Over the course of the afternoon, Naruto played with increasing the amount of chakra to that small spot. He quickly realized that even though he was trying to force more chakra through the ball of his foot, overall he didn’t burn through chakra as fast, because he could only expel so much at a time through such a small area. 

The sun was starting to set when the boys called it a day. Over the course of the afternoon, Naruto had a commanding lead over Sasuke.

They walked back to the village in relative silence until Sasuke took a deep breath and broke it. “Okay,” Sasuke said. “What did Sakura say?” 

Naruto just grinned and shook his head. “You’ll have to ask her yourself.”

Sasuke sighed. “Please?”

Naruto grinned wider. “I guess I can tell you, make it a fair challenge. I’m still going to beat you up the tree.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

“She said to think about it like a balance beam. Bend your knees, gentle and confident steps, focus on your contact point, and all that stuff Iruka Sensei used to say.”

Sasuke nodded and turned back to the tree, unsure how that helped.

\---

Dinner was a subdued affair.

Another one of Tazuna’s workers had quit, scared off by threats from Gatou’s thugs. It had made the job site tense. 

Sakura’s nerves had been shot by the time work halted. She picked at her food in silence.

Sasuke was exhausted from burning through all of his chakra 2 days in a row.

Naruto seemed lost in thought.

Tazuna and his daughter spoke softly about the workers and the village gossip. 

Tazuna’s grandson, Inari didn’t speak at all, again. He just stared at the shinobi crowding the kitchen table as if he could banish them with a glare.

_ Am I getting closer?  _ Naruto thought.

A low chuckle ran through his mind.  _ Thought you wanted to figure this out on your own? _ The Fox said. 

Naruto couldn’t tell if Kurama was sneering or teasing, but decided to assume the latter.  _ I’m not asking how to make it work, just if I’m on the right track? _

_ You are at last barking up the right tree. _

Naruto fought the urge to smile at that. The Fox was definitely teasing.

_ You’ve made progress with your control _ , Kuram admitted. _ Limiting the flow and narrowing your focus was a good exercise. One of your predecessors was fond of thinking of chakra in terms of temperature rather than just volume. _

_ So too hot and you damage the tree and too cold and you don’t stick? _

_ Yes. Too cold and the jutsu fails to materialize. Too hot and it backfires. _

Naruto nodded to himself.  _ Can you give me some more chakra? I want to try again after dinner. _

Kurama didn’t respond verbally, but Naruto felt a rush of energy wash through him and he hid a grin in another bite of food.

The genin helped clean up the dinner mess. “I’m going to go train for a bit longer,” Naruto announced, setting the last plate in the rack to dry.

“Why do you bother?” Inari caught them off guard.

“What?” Naruto stammered.

The kid crossed his arms and glared up at Naruto. “Why bother training? Why bother staying here? Gatou’s just going to kill all of us anyway.”

The room went silent. 

“I’m getting stronger,” Naruto said. “I’m not going to lose to Gatou or anybody else and I’m not going to just stand by while people get hurt.”

“Tch,” Inari sneered. “Who do you think you are? Some sort of hero? All heroes do is die.” Then the kid turned around and started to walk away.

Naruto grabbed Inari by the shoulder and spun him back around. 

Sakura gasped.

“Listen you little punk,” Naruto snarled, “Just because you’re ready to give up doesn’t mean everyone’s a lost cause. I’m not going to give up just because things are hard.”

Tears ran down Inari’s face. “You’re just a loser,” he hissed. “You’re an idiot. You don’t know anything!”

“My name’s Uzumaki Naruto and I know I’m going to be Hokage one day. I know that means I’m not going to quit, ever, and that’s all I need to know.” Naruto let go of Inari’s shoulder. “So go ahead and hide in your room all day. I’ll protect you anyway, because that’s what a Hokage does. They fight for everyone, even the people who don’t believe in them.”

Inari shook his head and ran upstairs, tears still running down his face.

The sudden quiet lasted 3 heartbeats.    
  


“NARUTO?!” 

The shock and disappointment stung. Naruto saw and heard it from all of his teammates.

Then Kakashi was trying to apologize to Tsunami and Sakura was trying to lecture Naruto and Naruto just bolted out the side door.

\---

Inari refused to come out of his room for his mother or grandfather, but they could hear him crying.

Kakashi offered to try and they accepted.

As Kakashi went to knock, Sasuke intercepted him. “Can I try first?” Sasuke asked. “I think I know what to say.”

Kakashi saw the determined set of Sasuke’s chin and decided it couldn’t hurt. He left the Uchiha outside the kid’s door and went back downstairs.

“I’m so sorry,” Kakashi apologized to Tsunami again.

The young woman shook her head. “It’s alright. Inari shouldn’t have said those things. He’s just angry all the time. He has no hope.”

Kakashi sighed. “May I ask why? I’ve seen kids like that before, but…” Kakashi trailed off. He’d been a kid like that, but he’d been raised on the battlefield, the orphaned son of a disgraced shinobi. 

“Gatou killed his father. Kaiza was our hero. Not just Inari and I’s, but the whole village. He saved Inari when he was little and he saved the village from a flood. Kaiza was a good, brave man. He was the first one to step forward in times of trouble and Gatou singled him out from the beginning,” Tsunami told the story without any emotion.

Kakashi’s heart ached.  _ A public execution. How barbaric _ . Kakashi half hoped they'd meet this Gatou before the bridge was finished. Kakashi’d like a word with the man, spoken with a first.

“I’m building the bridge for Inari,” Tazuna admitted. “We all need some hope to hold onto, something we can believe in.”

\---

Sasuke knocked on Inari’s door. 

“Go away!” Inari yelled. The impact of the words was diminished by the sob that followed them. 

“I’m coming in,” Sasuke said. He walked in and shut the door behind him.

Inari was on the floor beside his bed cradling something small to his chest.

Sasuke plopped to the floor beside Inari and leaned against the bed.

“Go away,” Inari whimpered.

“No.”

Inari cried harder and pressed whatever was in his hands to his chest a little tighter.

“I can see why you rub Naruto the wrong way,” Sasuke remarked. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Inari spat.

“Naruto’s a doer. He’s pretty much incapable of sitting still. When he sees a problem, he goes after it with everything he has. He has no concept of ‘good enough’ or waiting for someone else to fix it. It’s not that he won’t give up. It’s that he can’t.”   
  
Sasuke shifted closer to Inari. “You, on the other hand, don’t do much of anything. The whole time we’ve been here, you’ve been in this room waiting. Not sure if you’re waiting for someone to solve all of your problems or waiting to die, at this point they’re kind of the same. You’ve given up and ended up so rooted in place, we could use you for climbing practice.”

Inari finally looked at Sasuke, his face twisted in anger and indignation.

Sasuke snorted, dismissive of the child’s anger. “Naruto can’t stand you, because he’s spent his whole life trying not to be you.”

Inari opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. Sasuke reached over and pulled a scrap of paper from Inari’s now loose fist. 

It was a picture of a man, clearly ripped out of a larger image. “Let me guess: This is your dad and he was one of those hero types.”

“Give it back,” Inari’s voice was barely audible.

Sasuke held the picture back out to Inari and the kid snatched it away immediately.

“Naruto’s got a picture he keeps on his nightstand. It’s of his mom and dad. They were both that hero type too.”

Inari choked back a sob and hiccuped. “Grandpa said Kakashi was his dad.”

“Kakashi’s his parent. He raised Naruto and Naruto loves him dearly, but no one can fill that sort of hole in your life. Just like having a mom and grandpa who love you doesn’t replace your dad,” Sasuke explained.

Inari just buried his head in his hands and whimpered.

“Naruto learned early on that waiting for someone to come along and fix the world is a waste of time. You have to fight to make the world change. You have to prove people wrong. You have to stand up, because the world will trample if you stay sitting.”

“It doesn’t matter how hard you try. You still die,” Inari mumbled.

“Yeah, the shitstorm that is life might still bury you, but on your feet you have a chance.”

Inari shook his head.

“The reason Naruto can’t give up, is because if he gives up he’ll turn into someone like you.” Sasuke nudged Inari until the kid glared up at him with watery eyes. “I finally see why that scares him so much. With the ‘I-don’t-care-we’re-already-dead’ attitude you’ve got, life is going to kill you sooner than later and you’ll probably drag others down with you.”

“You suck at pep talks,” Inari choked out between sobs.

Sasuke snorted. “Yeah. I’m not the pep talker. That’s Naruto.”

“Why do you even care?” Inari asked.

Sasuke reached into his kunai pouch. He pulled out a little square of paper well folded and held it out to Inari.

Inari unfolded it. It was a picture--a family of 4, all with the same dark hair and dark eyes. 

“I know it hurts now. I know how tempting it is to just disappear into the background and let everything become someone else's responsibility. I know it seems hopeless, but it isn’t.”

Inari traced the creases in Sasuke’s picture. It had been crumpled at some point, not folded with the care he now showed it. The same way Inari’s picture was clumsily torn.

“Your dad lives on in you and I know how stupid that sounds. I used to hate when people told me that, because I couldn’t feel any connection to them and I was so angry with them for leaving me. The truth is, that connection is something you have to create.”

“How?” there was a note of desperation in Inari’s voice. All he wanted was for the whole in heart to feel less like a gaping wound, for the crushing loneliness to ease off his shoulders.

“Naruto’s dreams are how he’s made that connection. He loves like his parents did. He shares their dream of a better world.”

“What about you?” Inari asked.

“My family weren’t the heroes. Depending on who you ask, they were either the villains or the victims. My connection to them is more complicated.”

Inari looked at Sasuke expectantly.

“Instead of how they died, I focus on how they lived and who they were to me. I feel them when I think about what they taught me and what they left me,” Sasuke fumbled over the words, spitting them out quickly. Talking about himself made him feel exposed, vulnerable. 

Inari looked both confused and thoughtful. 

Sasuke, without thinking, covered one eye with his hand and smiled sadly. “The world sees my family in me. It's impossible not to with my eyes and my jutsu, but I’m not ashamed of it anymore. I am who and what I am because of their influence. It’s not all of who I am, but it’s a part.” 

Inari handed back Sasuke’s picture. 

“I guess I care because I don’t want you to hurt this way forever. I learned a lot from Naruto. You could too.”

Sasuke stood up, tucked the photo back in his pouch, and headed for the door. “Or you can just stay in here. It’s up to you at this point, but the way I see it, you’ve got family who love and need you. You’re not on your deathbed, so you still have the option of getting off your butt and doing something with your life.”

Inari didn’t say anything. Sasuke left the kid staring at his father’s picture, totally unsure if he’d helped or made things much much worse.

\---

When Naruto stopped running, he found his feet had taken him back to the training trees. 

Naruto shuddered. He knew he’d been stupid. He knew he’d been mean. But the kid had been staring at them for 3 days with the same sort of look on his face that Naruto was used to seeing from shopkeepers and civilians when Kakashi wasn’t around to scare them into being nice. It wore on Naruto’s nerves and then the kid opened his mouth. 

Inari was so bitter, hopeless, and helpless and Naruto just wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him out of it. How could the kid not understand that you don’t just give up when you’ve got your family and your home still standing around you. You have to protect them and you have to protect yourself or you’ll lose all of it.

The look on Inari’s face was burned into Naruto’s mind. The way he’d cried…

Naruto growled. He knew he’d messed up and pushed too hard. Inari was only 8 and he didn’t grow up in a shinobi village. 

_ Not everyone is made of steel _ . Kurama’s voice was dismissive in Naruto’s mind.  _ You can’t turn stone or wood into a blade worth anything. _

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. “I know,” he mumbled.

_ Then why waste the time?  _ Kurama really didn’t get it, this need to save everyone, to lift up even the dead weight.

Naruto shook his head. “I don’t want to think about this right now. I made a promise. I said I wouldn’t lose to Gatou or anyone else. I said I’d protect Inari.”

Naruto squared up to his tree and took a run at it. His focus was off, chakra covered his whole foot and each step was embedded 2 inches into the tree.

_ Training like this is pointless. You need to focus, _ Kurama admonished.

“SHUT UP!” Naruto yelled. “I just need to work this out.”

Naruto could feel the Fox regarding him. 

_ Go run a lap around the village. Use up your anger there and then you can train. _ Kurama’s voice was gentle now. 

Naruto sighed and nodded. He started jogging.

\---

Progress was slow, but Naruto was climbing steadily. Thinking of his chakra in terms of heat was the sort of physical metaphor that really clicked for Naruto. Full of blue flame was what it took to stick to the tree with just the balls of his feet as the focal point. Something just hotter than scalding across his whole foot was what it took to stand on the tree trunk, perpendicular to the ground. 

Maintaining the focus to hold just hotter than scalding was terribly difficult. It took constant focus to not let things get too hot or cool too far and if he overshot too far one way, he couldn’t seem to narrow the over-corrections. Sakura’s balance beam metaphor was making more sense by the minute.

Naruto was so focused he never heard the telltale sound of breaking twigs and dry leaves underfoot. He never even registered the presence of another person in the clearing.

Inari had snuck out of the house well past midnight. Naruto hadn’t returned and Inari wanted to see if he was really still training, like the older shinobi had said he definitely was.

Inari stood on the edge of the clearing and watched Naruto struggle, watched him fall and get back up over and over again.

At first, Inari just thought Naruto was stupid. Then, after several tries and one particularly nasty fall, Naruto made it one step further than he had before and Inari had to admit, maybe Naruto was kind of cool in a dorky sort of way. And maybe if Naruto could still have this sort of hope after everything he’d lived through, maybe the world wasn’t quite as dark as Inari thought. 

Inari left Naruto to his training. Inari had some thinking to do.

Inari made his way to a small beach and settled in the sand to watch the waves. He thought about his dad. Kaiza had promised to protect the village with all the strength in his arms. Gatou had broken those first and then he’d killed him.

Inari thought that coming back to this beach, the place he’d met Kaiza, he’d be swamped with sadness. Instead, he just kept remembering the good times. 

  
Inari wiped the tears out of his eyes. 

Kaiza wasn’t his father by blood. He hadn’t left Inari his blood and Inari would never see him in the mirror the way Sasuke saw his family.

But, Kaiza had left Inari his dream. He’d left Inari a million good memories. He’d left Inari with a glimpse of the best this world could be.

A gust of wind ruffled Inari’s hair and for a moment he could imagine it was his father’s hand.

This village was a place worth protecting. Inari was a person worth saving. And so was his mom and the neighbors next door and every other precious person. 

Tears ran down Inari’s face, but they weren’t desperate or angry. He finally felt it, that connection he’d been looking for. He finally understood. Kaiza wasn’t gone unless he was forgotten, unless Inari buried his memory and legacy with him.

\---

Naruto woke up to sunlight on his face and a gentle touch on his shoulder. 

“Uuuhhhggg,” he mumbled.

Someone snickered.

Naruto sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

There was a person crouching next to him. It was not one of his people.

“Ah,” Naruto shrieked and scrambled back.

The person laughed this time. “Sorry to startle you, but I was kind of worried. People don’t usually sleep out here.”

Naruto’s sleep muddled brain finally figured out what was going on. He’d been training most of the night, stopped for a short break, and fallen asleep. 

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and blushed a bit. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep and you startled me.”

The person looked Naruto over with a curious stare and Naruto did the same.

_ They’re beautiful, _ Naruto thought. The stranger was only a couple years older than him, mostly based on their height. They had the sort of face that could belong to either or a boy or girl, delicate features, brown eyes flecked with gold, long dark hair that hung loose past their waist.

“It looks like asleep isn’t the only falling you did,” the stranger remarked.

Naruto shifted and winced. He was pretty banged up, stiff and sore. Thinking harder, Naruto was pretty sure he remembered at least one more run at the tree after his break. “I guess I might have over trained a little bit…” Naruto admitted.

The stranger stifled another smirk behind their hand. “Guessing by the forehead protector that you’re a shinobi?”

Naruto nodded. “Uzumaki Naruto,” Naruto held out his hand. “Genin from the VIllage Hidden in the Leaves.”

The stranger shook Naruto’s hand. “Haku.” 

Naruto smiled. “Thanks for waking me up Haku. I wasted too much time napping already.” He stood up and groaned, oh man was he sore. “Got to get back to training,” Naruto muttered, trying to work the kinks out of his back.

“Would you let me patch you up first?” Haku asked, looking somewhat concerned.

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Haku gestured at a basket of plant cuttings sitting nearby. “I’m out here collecting medical herbs.”

Naruto hesitated and then relented. He was really sore and Haku seemed non-threatening.

“So why are you out here working yourself to exhaustion?” Haku asked as they smeared a bit of healing salve on a small cut above Naruto’s eyebrow, probably the result of getting whipped by a branch.

“I need to get stronger,” Naruto said.

“Why? You seem plenty strong to me.”

Naruto flushed at the compliment. “I made a promise and I have to make sure I’m strong enough to keep it.”

“Very admirable. What sort of promise?” Haku turned their attention to a scrape across Naruto’s palm.

“I promised to protect someone.”

Haku paused for a moment and then nodded.

“But it’s not just that,” Naruto added. “I’m going to be Hokage someday, so that I can protect everyone and make the world better. I’ve got to get a lot stronger, though.”

Haku’s fingers brushed the ridge of scar tissue on the back of Naruto’s hand. “I’m sure you’ll be strong enough when the time comes.’

Naruto glanced at Haku who had a thoughtful look on their face. “Sometimes I’m not sure,” Naruto admitted.

Haku smiled at him then. “The strongest people are those who fight to protect that which they love. You’re out here training day and night, so that you can protect your precious people. You’ll be strong enough when the time comes.”

A knot in Naruto’s chest that he hadn’t even noticed loosened. Naruto smiled back. “Thank you.”

Haku nodded and turned their focus to another scrape. “When you’re Hokage, what will you change? What does your world look like?”

Naruto thought about it for a minute, trying to pick the right words. “Everyone deserves to be loved.” Naruto was thinking of Kakashi and the way the academy still taught that emotions and bonds were weaknesses shinobi couldn’t afford. “No one should be judged by the things they can’t control, like who their parents were or what’s in their blood.” Here he thought of Sasuke defiantly sewing his crest onto his clothes and the creature sharing his own body. He thought about Hikaru. “When I’m Hokage, I’m going to show people how to be kinder. If we just talked more and listened more, if we just understood each other better…” Naruto trailed off. 

“I hope I live long enough to see this world of yours,” Haku said. There was a note of wistfulness to their voice.

Naruto shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s hard to put it into words.”

Haku shook their head and stood up. “I understood.”

Naruto smiled up at Haku. “Thanks again for patching me up.”

Haku nodded. “You’re welcome.”

Haku turned to go and then paused. “Please hold onto your dreams. Don’t let the world take them from you.” 

Naruto didn’t understand the sudden urgency in Haku’s voice, but he nodded and promised he would.

Haku really smiled then.

Naruto said his thanks again and watched Haku pick their way between the trees back towards the main path. 

“Oh, by the way, I’m a boy,” Haku said and tossed Naruto one more smirk over his shoulder. “Most people wonder. I appreciate that you were too polite to ask or assume.”

Naruto smiled and shrugged, guilty as charged.

_ He’s still beautiful _ , Naruto thought with another shrug. He thought he could feel Kurama laughing in the pit of his stomach.

With Haku gone, Naruto stood up and turned his attention back to the tree.

\---

Sasuke arrived at the clearing shortly after Haku had left. He didn’t see Naruto anywhere.

“Told you I’d beat you,” Naruto called.

Sasuke looked up to see Naruto grinning high in the branches.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but if you count hours and numbers of tries, I’ve got you way beat.” 

Naruto snorted.

Sasuke squared up to the tree, Stretched briefly and then ran at it. The advice from Sakura that Naruto had shared had clicked with Sasuke.  _ Gentle, but confident. Focus on the contact point. Wobble is okay. It doesn’t have to be solid like ground. _

Sasuke made it up the tree on that first run. He waved to a shocked Naruto.

Naruto pretended to clutch his heart and fall.

Sasuke gasped, but Naruto just ended up hanging upside down from a branch.

“Dummy!” Sasuke yelled. 

Naruto laughed and then his face morphed into one of genuine panic. His concentration had lapsed, chakra cooled to scalding and then spiked to incinerating and then back to lukewarm and then Naruto was falling.

Sasuke launched himself at Naruto and managed to intercept him before he hit the ground. The force of Sasuke’s jump knocked them off course into the tangle of branches. They landed in a large bush, scratched up but unhurt (both thanks to the branches and the bush).

“Thanks,” Naruto wheezed, the wind knocked out of him.

“You’re an idiot,” Sasuke gasped.

“So I’ve been told.”

Sasuke started laughing and then Naruto joined in. They’d passed. It’d taken way too long, but they’d both passed this test. They could finally get back to the mission.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, this chapter is more violent than most, but not any worse than canon.

Naruto and Sasuke hobbled back to Tazuna’s house leaning on each other. 

“We’re done,” Sasuke announced to the rest of the group, still finishing breakfast around the table. 

Sakura raised an eyebrow. “Did you climb a tree or lose a fight with one?” 

Both boys were covered in leaves, mud, and little scratches. Naruto had a whole twig stuck in his hair.

“The trees didn’t stand a chance,” Naruto said and then yawned loudly.

Kakashi snorted. “Alright then. Sasuke can come to the bridge with Sakura and me. Naruto, get some food and go to bed. You’re no good to us exhausted.”

It was a mark of how tired Naruto was that he didn’t argue, just grabbed a piece of toast from the table and staggered upstairs.

Kakashi turned his attention back to Sasuke. “You good?”

“Fine. Naruto fell out of the tree. I tried to catch him. We ended up in a bush. No big deal.”

Sakura’s eyes widened. “Good thing you were there,” she said. “Naruto’s kind of an idiot.”

Kakashi fought the urge to groan. He’d been wondering if Sakura had maybe gotten over her crush on the Uchiha. She’d been teasing him lately more like she did to Naruto. 

Sasuke shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal. Besides, he’s our idiot.”

Kakashi wondered if under the grime, Sasuke looked a little bit flustered.  _ Is he blushing? Maybe? Because that would just be classic Team 7 nonsense. _

“Time to get to work,” Tazuna announced and Kakashi mentally shrugged. If nothing else trying to untangle this possible new dynamic would break up the monotony of watching construction.

\---

When they arrived at the worksight, the morning was clear and sunny. 

Sasuke gasped. This was the first time he’d seen the bridge up close and it was huge./ The stone behemoth was wide enough for 4 carts to drive side by side and 20 feet above the waves (well out of reach of even a storm surge. 

In the distance, the other side of the bridge was visible.

As the morning wore into afternoon, the cloud cover rolled in from the direction of Kiri and then seemed to descend over the area as a thick fog.

“I think you should stop work for the day,” Kakashi told Tazuna. 

Tazuna frowned. “This weather isn’t abnormal.”

Kakashi hesitated. “I know, but the mist is heavier than any natural mist we’ve encountered so far and I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Tazuna sighed. The fog was dense. They’d have to suspend work with the heavy machinery anyway. It was too dangerous to move thousands of pounds of stone when visibility was so low. “I’ll start sending people home.” Sakura followed the bridge builder as he moved between the other workers.

Not that there were many people left to send home. Everyday less and less of Tazuna’s workers showed up. He was running a skeleton crew of less than a dozen at this point. 

“They’re gone,” Tazuna returned to Kakashi.

“You’ve got good instincts,” Low voice rumbled through the fog. “Saved the life of every many you sent home.”

Kakashi’s hand immediately went to his forehead protector. 

“Stand down Kakashi. We have no quarrel with your brats and if we cross blades again, you’ll all die. No jutsu fools me twice.”

“We?” Kakashi asked. His voice was level and unconcerned. Sakura took some comfort from it.

A breeze rippled through the fog and Zabuza appeared just out of reach in front of Kakashi. The hunter-nin stood beside him. 

“Last chance,” Zabuza said. There was a wicked glint in his eyes.

Sakura and Sasuke edged closer to Tazuna. 

“Smart move bringing your backup this time. I’ve seen your tricks. They’re nothing special,” Kakashi fired back.

Zabuza laughed. It was the sort of sound that sent shivers down one’s spine.

“Well then,” Zabuza drew his sword and pointed it at Kakashi. “How about we let the kids play while you and I handle business?”

Before Kakashi could open his mouth, the hunter-nin vanished and appeared beside the genin. Sakura shoved Tazuna behind her and Sasuke intercepted the hunter’s sendon with his own shuriken. 

Sasuke’s eyes glowed in the dim fog.

“Sasuke, you handle the hunter-nin. Sakura stay with Tazuna,” Kakashi ordered.

“So the kid has the sharingan. I wondered when I saw the crest,” Zabuza remarked. “I’m truly interested to see how your protege stacks up. Aren’t you Haku?” The last part was directed at the hunter-nin who just cocked their head to the side a bit.

Zabuza lunged at Kakashi without another word and Sasuke found himself facing a volley of senbon. 

Kakashi ducked Zabuza’s swing and relatiated with a kick to the rogue’s chest.

Sasuke was able to block the senbon with his kunai, but just barely. Even with the sharingan, the needles were hard to track in the gloom.  _ I need to draw him away from Sakura and Tazuna, so I can dodge without putting them in the line of fire. _

Sasuke didn’t wait for the hunter to make his next move, instead the Uchiha went on the offensive. A fireball jutsu forced the hunter-nin to fall back and another steered him out of line of the bridge builder and Sakura.

Kakashi and Zabuza clashed again. 

Kakashi managed to get his sharingan uncovered and was matching the rogue step for step again.

“You know, Haku’s the one who figured it out,” Zabuza said. 

Kakashi could hear a note of pride in Zabuza’s voice. 

“You can’t read people’s minds or see the future. You use a low level ocular genjutsu to force your opponent to sign what you want. That’s how you get in their heads.”

Kakashi snorted. Zabuza was half-right. It was part genjutsu, part memorization of hundreds of justus, and part knowing his opponent well enough to guess from the first sign what jutsu they were going to use. “Smart kid.”

“He’s a genius. Your kids don’t stand a chance. Even with eyes like yours. You see I found myself a weapon with old blood too,” Zabuza sneered. He pressed Kakashi with a flurry of sweeping blows, keeping the silver haired jounin on the run.

Kakashi’s eyes widened. “He’s got a kekkei genkai.”

“Like I said, your kids don’t stand a chance.”

“I guess I’ve just got to end this quickly.” Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

Zabuza just laughed and formed a single sign. The fog around them thickened to the point Kakashi couldn’t see beyond his nose. 

“The next time you see me, my sword will be in your chest,” Zabuza’s voice was muffled by the mist and seemed to come from both everywhere and nowhere.

A kunai hurtled past Kakashi’s face, nicking his cheek.

Zabuza laughed again.

Kakashi pivoted in his fighting stance, scanning the mist. No movement distrubed the water particles.  _ Where is he?! _

“AAAHHH!” Sakura’s scream cut through the fog.

_ He’s going after Tazuna! _ Kakashi realized. Maybe it was a waste of chakra, but Kakashi didn’t care. He shuushinned to the sound of Sakura’s voice.

Zabuza was raising his sword for a killing blow.

Sakura was standing her ground, kunai clutched tight in trembling hands. There was a wicked gash from her shoulder to her elbow and Tazuna was sprawled on the ground behind her.

“No,” Kakashi growled. He lunged for Zabzua’s side, left unprotected in this striking position.

Zabuza’s blade swept down and around, going for Kakashi instead of Sakura. 

Kakashi couldn’t dodge, but a shift of his weight let him catch the blade on the mead of his shoulder rather than his neck. 

Sakura gasped and choked back a sob.  _ So much blood. _

“It’s okay,” Kakashi promised. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

Zabuza just laughed and drew back his sword. 

Blood ran down the blade and behind his mask, Kakashi smirked. 

Kakashi used his injured arm to subtly pull a scroll off his belt while making a show of drawing a kunai with his other hand.

“These kids are going to be the death of you,” Zabuza said. “You forgot the number one rule of being a shinobi. The day you put on that forehead protector, you stop being a person. Shinobi are weapons. Nothing more. Love and affection just get everyone killed.”

“Oh shut up,” Kakashi snapped. “I’m sick of hearing that bullshit.’ He lunged at Zabuza, slashing in wide arcs with his kunai.

Zabuza jumped backwards, letting Kakashi chase him. He stayed just in reach, but too far to make out the details of Kakashi’s face in the mist. As far as Zabuza was concerned, it was already over. He was just playing now. Revenge for last time.

\---

Sasuke heard Sakura scream and turned that direction. A senbon pierced the muscle of his thigh. 

“Your fight is with me,” the hunter said.

Sasuke’s lips curled in a wordless snarl as he pulled the senbon free and dropped it. Sakura would have to take care of herself for now. If he turned his back on the hunter, he’d end up dead.

Sasuke forced himself to focus on the fight. 

A fireball jutsu put the enemy on the retreat and in the second it took for the jutsu to dispute and the hunter’s vision to clear from the brightness, Sasuke struck. 

Sasuke’s fist connected solidly with the hunter’s stomach. The Uchiha grinned when the older boy staggered back and pressed his advantage with a roundhouse to the hunter’s head.

Haku blocked Sasuke’s kick and stared at the Uchiha in surprise. “You’re actually enjoying this aren’t you?”

Sasuke let the moment from his roundhouse be redirected by the block and used it to throw another kick with his other leg. “You’re just practice for the person I really want to fight.”

Haku managed to block the second kick, but not with the same grace as the first. Unable to redirect the momentum, he absorbed it with his shoulder and staggered slightly.

Sasuke saw the hunter’s guard rise an inch too high as he stumbled and lunged forward to put a kunai between his ribs.

The hunter dissolved into a puddle of water.

“Not bad.”

Sasuke whipped around. The hunter was standing behind him, just out of striking range. “When?”

“You looked away when the girl screamed. If you want to go anywhere in this world, you’ll need to harden your heart.”

Sasuke shook his head and threw 3 shuriken to cover himself as he closed the gap between them.

Haku knocked the shuriken aside with his own volley of needles. “You should be proud of yourself. I don’t use this technique on many people.”

Sasuke saw the hunter begin forming seals.  _ Got to get to him before he finishes. _

Sasuke crashed into a wall of ice and landed on his back.

“Too slow,” the hunter’s voice echoed all around Sasuke.

The Uchiha sat up. He hadn’t run into a wall of ice. He’d run into a mirror, just like the dozens of other mirrors that now surrounded him. The hunter-nin stared out of all of them.

As one, the reflections raised their hand threw a sendon. 

Sasuke couldn’t dodge. He couldn’t even tell which direction the attacks were coming from.

A dozen cuts appeared all at once and one senob sunk deep into the join of Sasuke’s shoulder. It didn’t do any significant damage, but it stung and limited Sasuke’s range of motion. If he pulled it out, he’d bleed, a lot. Shoulder wounds were bad bleeders. 

Sasuke realized immediately that he needed to get out of these mirrors. He launched a fireball at the nearest and the reflection didn’t flinch.

“You can’t damage my mirror with a jutsu of that level.”

Another volley of senbon rained down on Sasuke and he crumpled to the ground, clutching his stomach. 3 senbon were sticking out. 2 had hit his ribs, but the third had sunk deeper. They burned.

Sasuke shuddered.

“I don’t want to kill you, but I will if I have to. I’ll kill anyone who gets in the way of my mission.”

Sasuke decided he should pull the senbon out of his shoulder. He’d tire quicker because of the blood loss, but he was going to die here if he didn’t have his full range of motion.

Sasuke yanked the needle free and let it clatter to the stone under his feet. The two he’d felt hit his ribs followed quickly. Sasuke didn’t dare pull out the one that had slipped deeper into his stomach for fear that it had punctured something important. 

The hunter let Sasuke assess the damage and the situation. Haku was hoping the boy would surrender. It was clearly a one sided fight at this point.

Sasuke stood up and met the hunter’s stare with one of his own. “I told you, you’re just practice. I’m not losing here and I’m definitely not dying.”

When the hunter moved, Sasuke sent a wave of chakra to his eyes and caught a blur moving between the mirrors.

A new senbon sank into Sasuke’s other shoulder from behind.

Sasuke hissed.  _ With focus, I can see him, but I’m not fast enough to dodge. _

The hunter-nin didn’t wait to attack again. When his reflection moved, Sasuke channeled his chakra to his feet and threw himself to the side. The initial blow missed him, but a hand snaked out of the mirror now within arms reach of Sasuke and shoved a senbon in between his shoulder blades.

Sasuke staggered away.  _ I can either focus my chakra to my eyes and see him or to my feet and match his speed. How do I do both? _

\---

Naruto woke up late in the morning. Through the window, he could see high clouds rolling across the blue sky. 

Naruto considered going back to sleep. It was blissfully quiet except for the soothing rumble of the distant waves. 

Then, Naruto thought of the rest of his team. They were off doing _ things _ . It didn’t matter what kind of things. All that mattered was that Naruto was missing those things.

The blond rolled out of bed with a groan, grabbed his kunai holsted and headed for the door. 

Tsunami was in the kitchen with Inari. They were chopping vegetables and Tsunami was humming softly. Naruto snuck past them quietly. He wasn’t quite ready to face Inari. He hadn’t figured out how to apologize yet.

Naruto made it halfway down the block before the fog rolled in and the hairs on the back of Naruto’s neck stood up.

A woman’s scream cut through the fog. It came from behind Naruto, back at Tazuna’s house.

The blond turned back at a dead sprint.

\---

“Take me instead,” Tsunami begged. “Just let Inari go.”

One of Gatou’s thugs had her by the hair and another was roughly clutching a struggling Inari to his chest. “We only need one of you, sweetheart,” the man holding Tsunami sneered. “I’ll let you pick who gets to live for now.”

Tsunami sobbed. “You can do whatever you want to me, just don’t hurt my son.”

“NO!” Inari screamed.

The man holding him shifted his grip to cover the kid’s mouth and Inari sank his teeth into the meaty part of the man’s palm. 

Gatou’s goon screamed and threw Inari aside on instinct. 

Inari landed with a hard thump beside the fireplace and scrambled until he grabbed the iron poker and then rolled to his feet.

The man holding Tsunami was laughing while the other cursed Inari in 2 different languages. 

“Sorry,” the man holding Tsunami said to her. He didn’t sound sorry in the least. “The kid’s too much trouble. You make a much better hostage. 

The other man grumbled and stepped towards Inari. “I’m going to enjoy wringing your neck like a chicken.”

He took another step and a kunai flew between them. The man staggered back as the kunai struck the wall.

Inari took the opportunity to lunge forward and whack the man in the knees with the pocker. 

The man tumbled over backwards.

“Run, Inari!” Naruto screamed. “Get help!”

Inari took 6 steps towards the door and glanced back.

Naruto and 2 shadow clones were in an all out brawl with both of Gatou’s thugs. Tsunami was pressed into a corner, holding her head. Blood ran between her fingers. They’d hit her to keep her from running.

_ If something is truly important to you, even if it breaks your heart and drives you mad, you have to keep on trying and fighting for it. Even if you lose your life, you keep on protecting it with all the strength in your arms. _

The words echoed in Inari’s mind.  _ No one helped Kaiza. No one was brave enough to stand against Gatou’s thugs.  _ In his heart, Inari knew if he left the house, by the time he got back, his mom would be gone.

Inari took the stairs two at a time and burst into his mother’s room. When Kaiza was killed, they’d put all his things in the big closet. 

Inari could hear the fight downstairs. He ripped the closet open and saw what he was looking for. In a heavy, wooden box on the floor was Kaiza’s crossbow. He’d used it to hunt and Inari had learned from his father.

Inari opened the box, grabbed the bow, grabbed a fistful of bolts, and ran out of the room while trying to load the bow.

Downstairs, Naruto had the man who’d been holding Tsunami pinned to the wall by a clone, but the other guy was back on his feet and coming for blood. 

Naruto threw a punch at the pinned thug’s jaw. His eyes rolled back in his head and the clone let him sink to the ground. 

Naruto turned in time to see the other thug swinging a club.

He never got close to Naruto. 

There was a loud, “twang,” and an arrow head protruded from the thug’s shoulder. 

The man screamed and that was abruptly cut off when Tsunami swung the pocker her son had abandoned into the man’s temple. He dropped like a bag of bricks.

Naruto looked between Tsunami, brow wrinkled with rage even as blood trickled from the gash over her temple, and Inari, holding a crossbow almost as big as him and shaking everywhere except for his hands which were rock steady. “I need to get to Tazuna. This mist… The other shinobi are back.”

Tsunami nodded. “Go. We’ll bring backup.”

When Naruto was gone, Tsunami looked at Inari. “Grab some rope and the rest of the bolts. We’ll tie up these 2 and go rally the village.”

Inari followed orders without hesitation. Today. This was going to end today.

\---

Naruto ran as fast as he could. The closer he got to the bridge, the heavier the fog became.

Sasuke was struggling. He was starting to catch on, but it wasn’t enough. Seeing and dodging both took too much chakra. The only way to survive this was to stop the hunter when he moved between mirrors or escape the mirrors.

Kakashi and Zabuza danced around each other. It was all Kakashi could do to keep the swordsman busy and away from Sakura. 

Kakashi dodged another swipe of Zabuza’s sword. 

A kunai hurtled through the fog and the swordsman batted it aside on instinct, but his face said it was just instinct. He hadn’t seen the kunai coming.

“I take one morning off! ONE MORNING! And you guys throw a party without me?!” Naruto yelled. Several more kunai broke through the fog, followed by half a dozen shadow clones.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. The clones wouldn’t last long, but they’d buy enough time to finish this.

“Go help Sasuke!” Kakashi ordered. 

Zabuza slashed through the last clone and sank back into the fog.

Naruto nodded.

Sasuke heard Naruto announce his arrival and smiled. WIth Naruto working from the outside, the two of them might just be able to break the mirrors.

“Why are you smiling? Do you think anyone can help you now?” the hunter asked, launching another attack.

Sasuke coughed. He could feel the blood in his throat. “You’re toast now. All those strategies you’ve worked out, totally useless. That’s Konoha’s number one unpredictable knucklehead ninja.” He wiped the blood off his lips and grinned.

“Hey Sasuke, I’m here to help.”

Sasuke froze. That voice was way closer than it should be.

Sasuke turned.

Naruto was standing just behind him, looking around at the mirrors. “So what’s the deal with the mirrors?”

The hunter-nin laughed. “Well, I suppose you did say he was unpredictable.”

Sasuke grimaced. “Mirrors are unbreakable for this side. He can travel between them faster than the eye can track and he likes stabbing.”

The hunter giggled at that, then he shifted in the mirrors.

“Get ready,” Sasuke hissed.

Sasuke dodged most of the senbon.

Naruto just stood there and took the hits.

“Oh,” Naruto muttered. He stared down at the needles sticking out of his shoulders and thigh. 

“You have to try to dodge,” Sasuke said.

Naruto shook his head. “What have you tried so far?”

“Fire jutsus don’t do anything. Punching and stabbing don’t either.”

Naruto nodded and made the sign for shadow clones. A dozen of them appeared, crowding the space. “Have you tried hitting them all?” there was a wicked glint in Naruto’s eye.

The clones hurled themselves at the mirrors alongside the original and Sasuke.

The hunter’s reflection flickered as he ducked from mirror to mirror, throwing senbon, and systematically destroying the clones. 

Naruto and Sasuke were knocked back to the center of the mirrors. Both breathing hard and bleeding from an assortment of new wounds.

But for a moment, the mirrors were split by an identical crack. 

“Hell yeah,” Naruto whooped. “We just need more clones.”

Sasuke snorted. He’d never understand how Naruto could just make brute force work so well.

“I’m sorry,” the hunter-nin interrupted. “I can’t let you get in Zabuza’s way. If there’s even a chance of you breaking out, I have to kill you.”

Then the reflection shifted and Sasuke saw him step out of the mirror, 4 senbon in each hand, and his gaze fixed on Naruto. 

Sasuke moved on instinct. He wouldn’t be fast enough to knock the needles out of the air or pull Naruto to safety, but he was close enough to intercept the attack.

“Interesting.”

Naruto’s eyes went wide with shock and horror. He’d seen the guy in the mirror move and then suddenly Sasuke was in front of him. 

Needles stick out of the Uchiha’s chest, stomach, and neck. Sasuke gasped and blood filled his throat. He fell to his knees gagging, trying to breathe, but all he his lungs got was blood.

Naruto pulled Sasuke towards him, onto his back, so the needles in his chest didn’t slide any deep when he collapsed totally.

“No,” Naruto whimpered. “I told you I wasn’t going to let you save me.”

Sasuke shook his head.  _ Not going to lose you _ , Sasuke thought. The sharingan faded from his eyes and his gasps faded to a soft gurgle.

Naruto sobbed.

“You must have been precious to him, for him to give up his dream of fighting the other one,” the hunter said. 

Naruto shuddered. A wave of rage and chakra burned through his veins. Naruto ripped the senbon out of his shoulders. He gently lowered Sasuke’s head from his lap to the ground and stood slowly. With shaking fingers, he closed Sasuke’s eyes.

The hunter let Naruto stand. Let him pull all the other senbon out. 

The kid was shaking, clearly crying. As far as the hunter was concerned, the fight was over.

Then Naruto looked up from Sasuke. The blond’s eyes had gone blood red, the pupils slit vertically, and when he drew his lips back in a snarl, his mouth was full of fangs. An evil chakra suffused the area.

“I’m going to kill you,” Naruto snarled. “We’re going to kill you.”

The chakra burst out of Naruto’s skin and it burned, but it also knit every puncture wound and scrape closed. 

In Naruto’s mind, Kurama offered comfort in the only way the demon knew how, by offering power. 

And Naruto took it without hesitation.

The hunter attacked, and his senbon hit their marks. It didn’t even phase Naruto within the chakra cloak. It would take more than needles to kill him with the Fox’s chakra like this.

Naruto stalked closer to the biggest mirror and swung his fist. The mirror cracked and on the next blow it shattered.

Naruto smiled and turned to the next mirror.

\---

Kakashi felt it when Naruto released the Fox’s chakra. The raw anger and malice crackled through the air like electricity.

Zabuza even flinched. “What the hell?”

“Looks like you might get to meet a real demon today,” Kakashi muttered. His heart was racing. If the seal had totally failed…  _ No. We’d see the Fox by now if the seal failed. _ Kakashi told himself.

_ I need to get to them. Something must have happened to one of them. _ “Time to end this,” Kakashi said.

The silver haired jounin finally opened the scroll he’d grabbed earlier. His blood had soaked it over the course of the battle, alerting the waiting summons. They’d be ready now. 

Zabuza just laughed from the safety of the mist. 

Kakashi formed the seals. His injured shoulder protested, but he forced the half severed muscles to comply.

Nothing happened.

Zabuza laughed again. “You can’t see me. You’re injured. You’ve lost a lot of blood. You can’t win this. Much longer and you’ll pass out from the blood loss alone.”

Kakashi nodded. “That’s why I’m ending it now. I don’t need to see you. You’re covered in my blood. You stink of it.”

A low snarl reverberated through the still air. It sounded like distant thunder and it was all the warning Zabuza had before a 200 pounds of muscular canine slammed into him.

Bull knocked the shinobi off balance while the rest of the pack sank their teeth into Zabuza’s legs and arms, they dragged him to his knees.

Kakashi nodded. He forced himself through another set of hand signs and then let his injured arm drop back to his side. Electricity crackled around Kakashi’s fingers, blue and wild. The sound was sharp and piercing, a million little thunderclaps as the chakra slit the air.

“Like I said. I’ll end this quick. This jutsu is of my own creation. I call it Chidori, a thousand birds, because of the sound. I believe you may know it as the lightning cutter.

Zabuza’s eyes went wide and he struggled. 

Kakashi took a deep breath. “I know exactly where you are. You stink.”

Then Kakashi charged through the fog.

\---

Naruto shattered the last mirror, sending the hunter-nin sliding across the stone.

Naruto stalked forward. His fingers itched to punch and claw. The demon in his belly howled its approval. They would destroy the one who caused them this pain.

The hunter-nin staggered to his feet. His mask was cracked and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. That last blow had done damage. One his lungs was punctured by a broken rib and taking on blood.

The hunter pulled his mask off and let it drop. He didn’t try to dodge when Naruto charged.

At the last instant, the hunter met Naruto’s eyes. Brown eyes flecked with gold and a sad smile on those delicate lips.

Naruto pulled his blow. He knocked the other boy back, but not so hard that Haku fell.

Haku clutched his chest and gasped in pain. 

“You?” Naruto growled.

Haku nodded. “I’m sorry, but Zabuza is precious to me. I am his weapon. To fight and die for his dream is my only purpose. You were in the way.”

Naruto choked back the growl rising in his throat and shoved off Kurama's cloak of chakra. The blood lust faded as Kurama let himself be banished back to the deeper parts of Naruto’s mind.

“I don’t understand.”

Haku smiled, his teeth red with blood that was filling his throat. “Zabuza took me in when the rest of the world wanted me dead. He made me useful, a good shinobi.”

Naruto shuddered. He could see the love in Haku’s eyes.  _ They’re like us _ , Naruto thought. He would do anything for Kakashi.

Haku nodded gently. “You get it now. Either you and your precious ones kill us or we kill you.”

Naruto shook his head. He couldn’t stop thinking about how kind Haku had been in the forest. 

Haku coughed. Blood dripped down his chin. “Kill me,” he ordered. “I lost. I’m no use to Zabuza now. My life has no purpose anymore. I’m just a broken tool.”

“No,” Naruto whispered. 

His stomach rolled at the thought. Too much death already.

Haku glared. “Kill me,” he related. “I took your friend and all his dreams.”

Naruto shook his head, but his hands curled into fists.

“You have to harden your heart if you want to survive long enough to fulfill your dreams. You’ll have to kill me and other people like me to protect the people you love and gain the strength to change the world,” Haku said it almost gently.

Naruto turned away.

“Look at me,” Haku ordered. 

Naruto refused. 

“Are you a shinobi or not?”

“I am.” Naruto’s voice was small.

Haku nodded. “Then kill me.”

Naruto swallowed hard and nodded again. He drew a kunai without looking at Haku and stepped closer.

Naruto stopped a foot from Haku. 

“I’m glad it was you,” Haku said softly. “I don’t mind dying, so that your dream can live. I’m just a broken blade afterall.”

A gust of wind swept the bridge. Zabuza’s control on the must had faded.

Naruto raised his kunai.

Haku looked across the bridge. He saw Zabuza, pinned by ninken. He saw Kakashi charge, lighting chakra dancing around his fingers.

Haku slammed his palm into Naruto’s chest. “I’m sorry. It seems even a broken blade may have one last use.” Then he vanished in a flicker.

\---

The dogs released Zabuza and scattered just before Kakashi struck. 

At the moment of impact, Kakashi closed his eyes.

The impact came too soon. Blood splattered Kakashi’s face.

Kakashi opened his eyes. His chidori had pierced the hunter-nin through the chest. The boy had lost his mask in the fighting. He looked 15, maybe 16. There was a relieved smile on his lips, but his eyes were already dead. Kakashi’s hand had crushed his heart. He was dead instantly.

Zabuza laughed. “I knew that kid would pay off one day.”

The swordsman was on his feet in an instant, swinging his blade to cut through both Kakashi and the corpse of the boy.

Kakashi hugged the kid to his chest and staggered back.

He laid the boy down and pulled his hand free in time to dodge another strike. The world sounded muffled. Kakashi was shaking. The blood on his hand was still warm. He slipped around Zabuza’s guard and sliced the tendons in the swordsman's right shoulder with a kunai.

One of the dogs bit into Zabuza’s other arm. Kakashi could hear the bone crack like wet wood. It was loud through the haze in Kakashi’s mind.

Zabuza shook off the dog and then he paused. He was looking past Kakashi. 

A line of men had gathered on the bridge. Armed with clubs and swords, these weren’t villagers.

\---

Naruto looked around, trying to figure out where Haku had gone. He saw Haku appear between Kakashi and Zabuza. He saw Kakashi dodge Zabuza’s strike and lay Haku out of the way. 

Naruto started running. The only thought in his head--  _ Stop Zabuza _ . Stop him from hurting Kakashi and Sakura and Tazuna. Stop him from hurting Haku. Just stop him.

Naruto didn’t see the men approaching on the bridge or the way they fanned out to block the way back to land.

\---

The mist cleared and Sakura looked around, trying to get her bearings. She saw Kakashi laying the hunter-nin down and Naruto making a run for Kakashi’s side. She saw the ice mirrors in shattered piles and a figure in the middle of the damage. Sakura saw the men approaching and knew it wasn’t over yet. “St… Stay behind me,” Sakura ordered around sobbs.

Tazuna put a hand on Sakura’s shaking shoulders.

\---

A single man walked out of the line. He was short and round, with greasy hair slicked back to cover a bald spot. 

The man walked forward until he stood over Haku.

Then he kicked Haku’s head. “I like him much better like this. Little shit had a mouth on him.”

“Stop it!” Naruto snarled. “Don’t touch him.” Naruto nearly barrelled past Kakashi and Zabuza, intent on getting that man away from Haku.

Bull intercepted Naruto, knocking him to the ground and then sitting on top of the struggling kid.

Kakashi nodded his thanks to the dog.

The man spat at Haku. It landed on his chest and Naruto snarled.

“Naruto,” Kakashi warned. If the man was who he thought, they were outnumbered and injured. They needed to play this very smart or they were going to end up dead.

“Are you just going to let him do that?” Naruto demanded. He had his eyes on Zabuza. “He loved you. You were all he cared about. All he wanted was to make you happy. And you don’t even care. He deserved better.”

Zabuza glanced at the corpse and then back up at the man. “He’s dead. It’s just a corpse.”

The man laughed. 

“Why are you here Gatou?” Zabuza asked. 

“To fire you. You shinobi types are expensive. So much cheaper to let you beat each other half to death and then kill you both.”

Zabuza narrowed his eyes. He watched the man disappear back behind his army of goons.

“Looks like our fight is over,” Zabuza said to Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded. “Our fight maybe, but they’re just getting started.”

Zabuza snorted. He struggled for a second, rubbing his face against his shoulder until he managed to tear the bandages away from his mouth.

“You’re right kid, “ Zabuza said softly. “Haku deserved better.” Then he turned to Kakashi. “Mind if I borrow a kunai? I’m about out. You leaf people always over prepare.”

Kakashi tossed a kunai and Zabuza caught it in his teeth. He nodded his thanks and then charged the line.

Kakashi didn’t watch. He nudged Bull off of Naruto and pulled the kid to his feet. “We aren’t done yet.”

Naruto nodded.

Zabuza cut through Gatou’s thugs without any regard for his own life. He was stabbed and beaten, but he didn’t falter until he had cut Gatou’s throat and felt the man’s hot blood on his face. Then Zabuza fell. 

A rippled passed through the ranks of Gatou’s thugs. 

“Gatou’s dead!” Kakashi yelled. “There’s no money for you here, so leave.”

One of the men just sneered. “We’ll just have to take what we’re owed from the village then.”

“Oh hell no!” Tsunami yelled. The thugs turned to see a new force gathered at the foot of the bridge. Armed with sticks, frying pans, kitchen knives, and one crossbow, the villagers had decided to make their stand.

“You got enough chakra left to help?” Kakashi asked, nudging Naruto.

Naruto nodded and formed the hand signs. 20 clones popped into existence, pissed and ready for a fight.

Kakashi did the same, burning through the rest of his chakra to add 3 clones to the fight. It would be more than enough.

\---

When the fighting started, Sakura stayed at her post between the battle and Tazuna.

“Let’s go check on you friend. Move him further from the fighting,” Tazuna said.

Sakura shook her head. “I have to protect you.”

“I’ll go with you so you can keep protecting me.”

Sakura knew she should probably say no, but she couldn’t.

Tazuna took her hand and they made their way to Sasuke.

There was so much blood and when Sakura took Sasuke’s hand, it was cold.

Sakura’s chin trembed and then the first sob slipped out and she couldn’t stop them. 

With shaking hands, Sakura pulled the senbon out of Sasuke. “It’s okay now,” Sakura whimpered. “I’ve got you. No one else will hurt you now.”    
  
Tears fell off Sakura’s chin and dripped down Sasuke’s face.

Sakura shuddered and tried to stop crying. The enemy was still near and this was not the time and place for a shinobi to mourn. “It’s okay,” Sakura repeated. “We’ll get you home soon.” She fumbled for the pouch on her belt. Inside was a blank summoning scroll. 

It was a shinobi’s duty to secure the bodies of fallen comrades, to bring them home and prevent the secrets of their ninjutsu from falling into another village’s hands. In the academy, they’d learned how to store weapons and supplies in a blank scroll. They’d been taught to do the same thing with bodies.

Sakura never imagined she’d have to do it.

Sakura couldn’t get her pouch open. She was shaking too hard and the world was just a smear of colors through her tears. She buried her face in Sasuke’s chest and sobbed. She couldn’t even do this right.

“Too tight,” Sasuke mumbled.

Sakura screamed. 

Sasuke winced.

Tazuna beamed.

\---

The last of Gatou’s things were subdued and herded onto a cargo ship for a one way trip out to prison on the mainland.

Among the dead, Kakashi and Naruto found Zabzua still clinging to life.

“Help me to Haku?” Zabuza asked.

They’d half carried and half dragged the man.

Zabuza took Haku’s hand. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You deserved better. I didn’t know how to give it to you.”

Naruto buried his face in Kakashi’s side and cried. Kakashi stroked his hair.

At some point, the temperature had dropped. The lingering fog turned to ice and fell like gentle snow.

Sunlight slipped through the thinning clouds and filled the air with rainbows.

“I wish I could follow where you’ve gone,” Zabuza murmured.

“You can,” Kakashi said.

Zabuza smiled. “You think? After everything?”

“Yes.”

“I hope you’re right.” For a moment, the dying shinobi looked up at Kakashi. “Keep them safe,” he ordered. “As long as you can.” Then he turned back to Haku.

“Sasuke,” Naruto whimpered against Kakashi.

Kakashi’s heart clenched.

Zabuza shook his head. “Haku doesn’t kill kids. Take out the senbon.”

Naruto pulled away from Kakashi and ran for Sasuke.

“Go,” Zabuza murmured. The pool of blood beneath him was growing wider. “Go take care of your kids. It’s time for me to go take care of mine.”

Kakashi nodded and followed Naruto.

\---

When they patched up everybody, Kakashi had to admire Haku’s skill. Naruto and Sasuke both had over 50 different injuries and not one of them was lethal or crippling. 

Sasuke’s muscles and nerves didn’t want to obey him, but the paralysis and spasms were a temporary side effect of being pralyzed by a strike to the spinal column.

The village wanted to celebrate, but Naruto insisted they had to take care of Haku and Zabuza first.

The villagers carried the bodies to a quiet hillside with a view of the bridge and the sunset.

Sasuke insisted on coming along. He had an arm over both Sakura and Naruto’s shoulders, so that when his legs spasmed and stopped working he didn’t fall.

They buried the 2 shinobi side by side with little fanfare. Kakashi planted the swordsman’s blade at the head of the graves for a marker.

The villagers left the shinobi, living and dead, to their business once the burying was done. There was a celebration to prepare for.

“Are we really just tools to people?” Naruto asked. “Is that what we’re supposed to become?” He looked at Kakashi with tears in his eyes.

Kakashi sighed and motioned for them to sit. They were all too tired to have this conversation standing.

“Shinobi must be able to follow orders. It’s easier to do that if emotions aren’t a factor.”

“But you always said---”

Kakashi cut Naruto off. “Loving people as a shinobi means there will come a day when you may have to choose between the person you love and your duty to the village. In the second great war, lots of good shinobi died and we almost lost, because someone chose to abandon their post on the border with Kumo to save their lover and another traded information about our defenses to save their brother.”

Naruto stared at the ground beneath his feet. 

“It was decided that for the safety of the village, shinobi should train themselves to not feel emotions and sever their bonds with their precious people. Only those who succeeded entirely could be trusted with the village’s most critical missions. Out of this ideology came out anbu black ops,” Kakashi explained. 

Naruto glanced at Kakashi, his anbu tattoo was hidden by his jounin uniform.

“The other villages figured this out around the same time. To facilitate this, Kiri instituted a combat portion to their academy graduation. They pit their kids against each other and cut the graduating class in half. Zabuza was one of the youngest to ever graduate and he did it by killing everyone else.”

The genin shuddered. They couldn’t imagine killing their friends, the people they’d trained with and played with.

“To understand Zabuza and Haku, you have to understand where they came from. They were both products of the system. Zabuza was trained to kill without emotion or hesitation. Haku was probably orphaned during Kiri’s civil war. They wiped out pretty much everybody with any sort of kekkei genkai out of fear. Haku grew up in fear, told he was a monster. Then Zabuza came along and told him he wasn’t just a monster and offered him both a purpose and a home at his side.”

The familiar elements of the story weren’t lost on Sasuke and Naruto. They were lucky that it had been Kakashi who took them. In another life, they both could have been Haku. 

Kakashi thought of Zabuza and saw his distorted reflection, what he could have been if he’d not found Naruto for a few more years, if he didn’t have Tanzou and Gai to drag him back from that unfeeling abyss.

Kakashi shoved away the comparison. “In my experience, I found that successfully killing off emotions and forgoing bonds makes very good soldiers, people who follow orders. But sometimes the orders are wrong and sometimes you need something more than orders to keep you going. You have to love what you’re fighting for you’ll never be able to put your whole self into the fight.”

“You’re strongest when you’re protecting something precious,” Naruto mumbled.

  
Kakashi nodded. “And the village is precious to me, so I am willing to be it’s tool.”

The 3 kids all sat in silence, thinking. 

“And, the 3 of you are precious to me,” Kakashi added. “I hope you already knew that.”

“Would you choose us or the village?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi sighed. That was the question he’d been asking himself from the day he first lifted Naruto out of that crib. “The village.” Seeing the kids handle themselves over the course of this mission, finally let Kakashi say that and have it be mostly true.

Naruto nodded and rooted his gaze on the ground so Kakashi couldn’t see the tears in his eyes.

“But, I can say that only because you’re shinobi,” Kakashi explained. “You took the same oath when you graduated that I did and you did it because the village and the people who call it home are precious to you, just like they are to me.”

The genin thought about their friends, Sakura thought of her parents, civilians. 

Kakashi laid back on the hillside to stare up at the clouds racing overhead. Had Naruto been allowed a life outside of the shinobi system, Kakashi would have turned in his headband. “And, I can say it because I believe in you. When the day comes that I have to make that choice, I know you’ll be strong enough to save yourselves. If you’re captured, that'll be your captors problem, not mine.” There was a smile in his voice. He could only imagine the chaos and terror whoever tried to kidnap these kids would be in for. 

“That’s my promise to you as your sensei. I’ll protect you for as long as I can and train you until you surpass me. Then I’ll find someone stronger to keep training you.” 

Naruto wiped the tears out of his eyes and scooted closer to Kakashi. “So you think there’s another way to be a good shinobi? Without letting go of love?”

Kakashi nodded. “It won’t be easy.”

“I’m going to do it. I’m going to be a shinobi, but I’m going to do it my way,” Naruto declared. The words rang hollow in his ears as Haku’s still echoed, “You have to harden your heart if you want to survive long enough to fulfill your dreams. You’ll have to kill me and other people like me to protect the people you love and gain the strength to change the world.”

\---

Eventually they Konoha-nin made their way back to town. Everyone wanted to thank them or congratulate them. There was food everywhere.

It was loud and everyone was happy.

Naruto felt trapped in the noise and the crowd. His mind wouldn’t stop thinking about promises, dreams, and the harsh reality of the world where children fought to the death and whole clans were slaughtered out of fear.

Naruto slipped away from the celebration as the sun was starting to sink into the horizon and made his way back to the hillside.

Inari found Naruto sitting on the hillside beside Haku and Zabuza’s graves.

When Naruto saw Inari, the blond climbed to his feet quickly. “I need to apologize,” Naruto started as soon as Inari was within talking range.

Inari cut him off. “No. I need to thank you,” 

Naruto blinked in surprise. 

Inari used the moment of silence to plow forward. “Kaiza, my dad, taught me something important, but after Gatou killed him, I forgot it. I forgot all the best things about my dad. I could only think about the way he died.” Inari trailed off and sniffled.

Naruto nodded. He understood. When he’d first learned the truth of his parents’ death it was all he’d dreamed about for months.

Inari took a deep breath and then continued in a water voice. “Then you showed up here and the things you said sounded so much like him and I thought I hated you for it. But really, I was just mad. Mad that I’d forgotten and remembering hurt.” 

Inari looked up and met Naruto’s stare. “You said what I needed to hear, even though I didn’t want to hear it.”

Naruto just shook his head. “I’m not so sure I was right,” he said softly. He couldn’t stop thinking of Zabuza and Haku. Of those things Haku had said about being a weapon.

Inari frowned. “Looks like I get to return the favor.”

Naruto flinched when Inari grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him down to eye level. 

“You have to live your life so that you’ll have no regrets. No matter how hard, no matter how sad, if something is precious to you, you have to protect it with both arms. Even if it costs you your life, your legacy will live on through that which you deemed precious.”

Naruto blinked twice.

Inari let go of his shirt. “That’s what my dad taught me, what you reminded me of.”

Naruto nodded slowly. He thought of the promise he’d made in the forest to Haku. He’d promised to hold onto his precious dream, to make that kinder world a reality. Haku’s comment about hoping he lived long enough to see it made sense now. 

Naruto suppressed a shudder. Haku and Zabuza were dead. They’d died fighting for a cause they didn’t believe in. It was a meaningless death, but that didn’t mean their lives had been meaningless. Naruto was a part of their legacy now. 

Standing beside the graves of two good shinobi the world had destroyed, with Inari’s voice echoing in his mind like the crashing waves, Naruto swore he would find a different way of being a shinobi, his own ninja way. He’d keep fighting for that kinder world, one where Haku and Zabuza could have lived in peace, one where shinobis were more than weapons, where everyone could find strength in protecting those they loved.

“Thanks,” Naruto said around the lump of tears in his throat. 

Inari smiled. “Figured I should get to you before Sasuke did. He’s terrible at pep talks. I almost punched him, but I think he’d just make you cry.”

Naruto snorted and wiped his face. “That sounds like Sasuke. Can’t be sad if you’re angry right? Can’t wallow in self-pity if you’re trying to punch him in the face.”

Inari nodded thoughtfully. He didn’t ask if Naruto was speaking from experience. This wasn’t the time to drag up memories of old fights.

“We should go home. Mom’s probably got dinner ready and everyone is going to want to celebrate,” Inari said softly. He took Naruto’s hand hesitantly and then beamed when Naruto squeezed it lightly. 

The two set off together. “Speaking of punching, do you think you could teach me how to do that?” Inari asked.

“Definitely.” Naruto grinned. “But you probably shouldn’t punch Sasuke.”

Inari just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this was a long one. We're just about done with the land of waves arc now. Then we'll get into some filler/rookie 9 bonding before the chuunin exam arc starts (I'm taking full advantage of the excuse this provides to re-watch all the chuunin exam stuff). I have real person stuff to get done this week, so there may not be any updates for a bit. Don't worry, I will be back.
> 
> Just wanted to also say a really quick thank you to everyone who has made it this far with me and everyone who has left comments. I got behind in replying to your comments, but I read and save all of them. I think I'm caught up on everything less than 6 months old and I'm going to do my best to stay up on answering question, theories, critiques, and long comments from here on out. If I missed your comment and you want to chat about Naruto in any form, you are always welcome to drop a reply on your comment so it pops back to the front of my inbox or hit me up on tumblr (sparrowstrikewrites). You guys are all the best. It's fun to write for this fandom, because everyone is so passionate about it!


	6. Chapter 6

Tazuna and his family walk Team 7 across the bridge. 

Inari was sniffling and clinging to Naruto’s hand. 

Sasuke and Sakura walked side by side. 

Sasuke was still feeling the effects of Haku’s senbon. His limbs felt heavy and slow and once in a while he stumbled.

Sakura was there to catch him, not that she’d said it out loud. Sasuke was too proud to ask for help, but he accepted the quiet support.

At the far end of the bridge, the shinobi lingered.

Tazuna smiled sadly. “Goodbye’s are never pleasant are they?”

Kakashi nodded.

Inari gripped Naruto’s hand tighter.

Naruto squeezed back.

“Well, at least the next time you visit, you’ll have an easy trip.” Tazuna said with a nod towards the bridge. 

“Promise you’ll write,” Inari pleaded.

“Of course,” Naruto said. He was doing his best not to sniffle. 

Sakura and Sasuke both nodded their agreement. 

The group lingered still, like they were looking for some sort of closure.

“You sure we can’t talk you into staying any longer?” Tazuna asked. It’d only been 3 days since the battle of the bridge as the villagers had taken to calling it. The 4 shinobi still looked beaten to hell and exhausted.

“We’ve been gone longer than we were supposed to be already,” Kakashi said apologetically. “Much longer and they’ll send a search party for us.”

Tazuna sighed and held out his hand to Kakashi.

The jounin shook it.

Then Tazuna turned to the genin. One by one, he shook their hands. “It’s a shame you’ll miss the naming ceremony,” Tazuna said as he straightened up. “I think the Great Naruto Bridge has a nice right to it.”

Naruto’s eyes went wide. 

“It was Inari’s idea,” Tazuna admitted. “We all agreed the bridge stands for hope and it needs a name that does the same. We’re all looking forward to the day you’re hokage.”

Naruto’s lips quivered and he was uncharacteristically quiet.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. “It’s okay,” he murmured and put a hand on Naruto’s shoulder.

Naruto turned, grabbed Inari, and hugged the little boy. 

Kakashi couldn’t tell who was crying harder. 

“Maybe you’ll all be able to come back when we finish the other 4 bridges. The city is planning a festival for the 5 bridges.” Tazuna gestured at the island. “4 bridges will connect us to the mainland and 1 to the next island in our chain. The Sakura bridge will be to the west, the Uchiha to the north, the Hatake to the south, and the Kaiza will connect us to the larger island to our west.”

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. The other two kids were gaping at Tazuna.

The bridge builder just grinned.

The shinobi set off at a slow, but steady pace. Kakashi stayed to the back of the group so he could keep a close eye on his charges. 

Naruto seemed physically in the best shape. With his accelerated healing, most of the senbon wounds were closed, but that didn’t mean the wounds were gone. Senbon were nasty. They left deep puncture wounds, so Kakashi wasn’t surprised that Naruto was still limping although not actively bleeding.

Sakura hadn’t faced Haku and Kakashi thought she might have gotten the worse end of the deal. She’d taken a glancing blow from Zabuza’s sword, unable to both shove Tazuna aside and dodge it herself. He cut her from shoulder to elbow and elbow to wrist. The gash was particularly deep on her upper arm and Kakashi had stitched it up as best he could. 

Sakura didn’t complain, but the way she held her arm stiff to her side, Kakashi knew she was hurting.

Kakashi’s wound was deeper but smaller, he’d taken Zabuza’s blade in a horizontal stroke. It bit deep into his shoulder and upper arm, but required a lot less stitches than Sakura’s arm.

Sasuke worried Kakashi the most. He was still limping from a combination of puncture wounds and spinal bruising. When he laid down flat, he had trouble breathing thanks to the damage to his throat.

Kakashi thought a night in the hospital might not be out of the question for the Uchiha when they got home.

They stopped early and dinner was a quiet affair.

The kids dropped off to sleep quickly. 

Kakashi stayed awake. He added a few more branches to the fire and watched the flames dance as the moon rose. 

In the early hours of the morning, Sakura jerked awake and scrambled for the kunai under her pillow. 

The fire had died down to a bank of coals and Kakashi was sitting against a tree trunk, seemingly asleep. All was quiet. 

Sakura relaxed. 

“You okay?” Kakashi’s voice was low. He shifted against the tree and rubbed the sleep from his uncovered eye.

Sakura nodded and laid back down. She didn’t fall back asleep.

On the third day, they passed the place they’d fought the chuunin. The bodies were gone, but remnants of the fight remained-- a spray of dried blood on the cliff face and burned vegetation where Sasuke’s opponent had fallen.

They all walked quicker and pushed on later into the evening, so they wouldn’t have to camp anywhere near the site of the failed ambush.

Around the fire, Kakashi helped redress Sasuke and Sakura’s wounds while Nartuo started dinner.

Sakura kept her eyes on the boys while Kakashi probed her arm and checked on the stitches. “You think it will scar?” Sakura asked. Her voice wavered slightly.

Kakashi regarded the cut. The blade had caught her on the move and left the upper part deep and ragged. It would definitely scar. Kakashi’s stitch job wouldn’t do the appearance of the wound any favors. Kakashi wasn’t a medic. He’d picked up basic battlefield medicine over the years and his competency level was “You’re not going to die.” Kakashi’d stopped the bleeding with steady, even stitches that would hold up through most any moment, but it wasn’t an invisible stitch with thread that the body could absorb. 

“It’ll scar,” Kakashi admitted. “The shallower parts might fade. I know there are some salves that will help.” Gently he released Sakura’s arm. “Lots of kunoichi have scars. It’s not ugly or anything to be ashamed of.”

Sakura sighed and looked up at her sensei. “It doesn’t bother me. My mom’s going to be upset though.”

Kakashi winced. “I can talk to your parents again, if you want,” he offered. They hadn’t wanted their daughter to be a shinobi to begin with and now he was going to return her home injured. No doubt they’d be livid.

Sakura shook her head quickly. “I think that’ll just make it worse. You kind of scare them.” She said the last part with a little smile. 

Kakashi nodded and ruffled Sakura’s hair. “Just know I’ll help however I can.”

“They’re still convinced I’m going to outgrow all of this and settle down as a housewife.”

Kakashi laughed. The idea of Sakura as a mild-mannered housewife was downright ridiculous. Under her sweet, innocent demeanor, she was proud, headstrong, brave, and clever. She liked to win. 

Sakura’d stood toe to toe with one of the Seven Swordsman as a genin, twice, and kept her wits both times. Her chakra control was excellent and she had a head for leadership. The only thing she was going to become was a brilliant kunoichi.

Sakura grinned. “Yeah. I’ve tried to tell them it’s not going to happen, but they’ll only believe it when they see it.”

It took 5 days for Team 7 to make it home. They arrived back at the gate in the late afternoon.

Kakashi glanced at his team. The relief was obvious on the genin’s faces. Kakashi turned to Sakura. “Why don’t you go home for a bit? You can check in with your parents, take a shower, get some real food, and then come over to help fill out the mission report?”

Sakura bit her lip. “They aren’t going to want me to leave tonight. Can I just go with you now?” Her eyes were wide and there was some emotion that Kakashi couldn’t quite place in those green eyes.

Kakashi shrugged and the 4 of them headed for home.

The kids showered and cleaned up while Kakashi started dinner. 

When all 3 kids were clean, re-bandaged, and scarfing down ramen at the kitchen table, Kakashi took his turn.

Kakashi stripped off his gear and threw it in the laundry hamper. He’d done his best to wash everything at Tazuna’s house, but his vest was still stiff with dried blood and the metallic smell lingered in his mask. 

Kakashi pulled the mask off and took a deep, relieved breath.

“Been a while since you called us on a mission,” a familiar voice said from Kakashi’s bed.

“Hey, Pakkun,” Kakashi smiled softly. 

The dog hopped off the bed to headbutt Kakashi’s shin. “You okay, Boss?”

Kakashi nodded, not trusting his voice.

Pakkun looked up. His face was skeptical. “Really?” he asked dryly. “Because you look like you haven’t slept for a week and you smell scared.”

Kakashi groaned and leaned against the wall. “What do you want me to say? That the nightmares are back? That for a minute there in the fight, I didn’t know whose blood was on my hand?” Kakashi’s voice was empty and emotionless.

Pakkun pressed his body against Kakashi’s leg.

“I’ve got to get back out there. We need to finish this report, so I can send Sakura home.” Kakashi stepped away from Pakkun and headed for the shower.

The dog let him go, but stayed just outside the bathroom door, keeping an eye on Kakashi.

The jounin appreciated the company. He could feel Pakkun’s familiar chakra and that of the kids. It grounded him in the present.

Kakashi showered quickly, using scented soap to drown out the linger smell of blood. He didn’t turn on the bathroom light. He kept his mind focused on the chakra signatures in the house and his eyes unfocused. No matter how hard Kakashi’s brain tried to supply the image and sensation of warm blood running down his arm, Kakashi refused to believe it.

\---

Dinner done, the 4 shinobi pooled their memories to write up a detailed mission report. Kakashi intended to deliver it to the Hokage himself. He hadn’t decided exactly how much hell he was going to raise, but he was definitely going to raise some. Tazuna should have been sent home with an anbu security detail and that was a hill Kakashi was willing to make a stand on.

In the end, Sakura proved invaluable to the report writing process. She had an eye for detail and had apparently kept her head on a swivel while Kakashi was unconscious. 

When the boys dozed off leaning against each other, Sakura moved her chair next to Kakashi and watched over his shoulder while he filled out all the forms.

“You can go home,” Kakashi told her. “I can show you how to do all of this another time.”

Sakura shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Kakashi finished the paperwork around 1 in the morning. Sakura was blinking slowly, but still clinging to awakeness. 

“I’ll walk you home,” Kakashi said. 

“Can I stay here?” Sakura mumbled.

Kakashi blinked in surprise. “I’m pretty sure your parents will kill me if I don’t bring you home. I’m sure they’re worried sick.”

Sakura’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to go home,” she whimpered. 

Kakashi held up his hands. “Okay. You can stay, just give me a minute to get the boys to bed and we’ll make you one.”

Sakura sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

Kakashi shook his boys awake. There was a bit of dried drool in the corner of Naruto’s mouth. “I can’t carry you guys right now, so you’re going to have to climb the stairs.” 

The boys staggered upstairs. Sasuke leaned heavily on Naruto.

Kakashi made sure they both actually made it to their beds and tucked them in.

Back downstairs, Kakashi found Sakura sitting on the couch.

Kakashi dropped down beside her. “Alright, what’s going on?”

“I’m scared.” Sakura fiddled with the end of the bandage at her wrist. “I keep thinking Zabuza’s behind me. I can feel him there.” Sakura shivered. Her chin quivered.

Kakashi put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his side. Sakura buried her face in Kakashi’s side and sobbed. “You’re safe in Konoha,” Kakashi promised. 

“I know,” Sakura whimpered. “But it doesn’t stop the nightmares and my parents won’t understand. They don’t like when I talk about being a shinobi, so I can’t tell them about any of this.”

Kakashi frowned. “What do you mean?”

Slowly, Sakura numbled the truth into Kakashi’s side. “When I graduated the academy, Mom cried. They worry every time I come home with a new bruise and they don’t like when I go on missions. They don’t understand.”

Kakashi squeezed his lips together to keep from saying something bad about Sakura’s parents. 

“Mom and I got in a fight before I left,” Sakura whispered. “They don’t want me to be a shinobi.”

Kakashi stroked Sakura’s hair and held her close. He was going to have to have a conversation with the Haruno’s. 

“I’ve got you,” Kakashi promised.

Sakura cried herself to sleep in Kakashi’s arms. He left her on the couch and laid a blanket over her.

“Picked up another pup?” Pakkun asked. 

Kakashi shook his head. “She has a family. They’re civilians.”

Pakkun regarded the bundle on the couch. “Just because you’ve got parents doesn’t mean they’re good ones.”

Kakashi nodded. “I don’t want her to lose her family. She clearly loves them.”

Pakkun nudged Kakashi towards his own room. “Tomorrow. You can figure it out tomorrow.” 

Kakashi lay in his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Pakkun was pressed to his side. 

“Go to sleep,” the dog grumbled. 

“Rin didn’t get along with her parents when we were genin,” Kakashi mumbled. “I know she moved out when we were chuunin and they got along better later. I never asked her what changed.”

“You’re avoiding sleep,” Pakkun accused.

“Yeah.”

The dog huffed. “I’ll wake you up if you have a nightmare.”

Kakashi was already out.

In the morning, Sakura was the first one awake.

Sakura wandered the house, stocking feet silent on the wood floor. She’d never been left unattended to explore before. 

Kakashi woke up and staggered out of his room to find Sakura wrapped in a blanket looking through his bookshelf. He didn’t say anything, just watched for a minute. 

Sakura picked up a framed picture of Team Minato and looked at it closely. She was careful when she set it down to line it back up with the dust imprint. 

Next, Sakura reached for a book whose well folded spine said it was well read.  _ An anthology of the Third War? _ It wasn’t the sort of reading material Sakura had come to associate with her sensei.

Sakura let the book fall open in her hands. Apparently Kakashi spent a lot of time on chapter 9, “The Final Days of the War and the Cost of Victory.”

“Find anything interesting?” Kakashi asked.

Sakura jumped and yelped. She dropped the book and pivoted to face Kakashi, fists raised.

Kakashi winced. “Easy. Sorry. That was stupid of me.”

Sakura let out a shaky breath and quickly picked up the book. “I shouldn’t have been snooping,” she mumbled and put the book back with shaking hands.

Kakashi felt like the worst sort of person.

“I taught you to snoop and you’re good at it, so I can hardly fault you right?” Kakashi soothed. “I would have done the same thing. I did do the same thing when I was your age,” Kakashi admitted.

“You snooped around the 4th hokage’s house?” Sakura was incredulous.

Kakashi snorted. He was somewhat surprised that Sakura recognized Minato in such an old photo. “He wasn’t the hokage then.”

Sakura looked no less impressed.

“I should probably go home,” Sakura said after a long minute.

“You feeling better?” Kakashi asked.

Sakura shrugged. “Everything looks better in daylight, right?” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as Kakashi.

“Want me to walk with you?” Kakashi asked.

Sakura nodded.

Kakashi left the boys in bed, pulled on a clean uniform, and set out for the Haruno house with Sakura.

“So what exactly did you and your mom fight about?” Kakashi asked as they walked.

“She thinks I’m throwing away my life.”

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. He could understand the woman’s fear.

“She said I’m not strong enough and that I must have a death wish.”

Sakura could hear her mom’s voice choked with tears and raw from yelling. Those hadn’t been her exact words, but the meaning was the same to Sakura. “This whole thing is crazy. How can you even think you can fight all these people with clan jutsu and kekkei genkai? I can’t watch you kill yourself.”

Sakura could also hear her own voice, equally raw and angry. “Then don’t! When I get back, I’ll move out and you can tell the neighbors your stupid daughter got herself killed pretending to be a ninja!”

Kakashi sighed. This explained a lot of Sakura’s insecurities about her skill set and the way she preened under his praise. No one else was telling her how much she was improving and how proud they were of her.

“I told her I was going to move out,” Sakura said.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to move out?”   
  


Sakura stared down at her feet. “No, but I want to be a shinobi and if it’s the only way…”

“Sakura, why do you want to be a shinobi?” It was a question Kakashi had been meaning to ask since he met her. As the only child of a civilian family, it was odd that she’d chosen this path and odd how she’d thrown herself into the life.

Sakura didn’t say anything. 

The pair walked in silence. Kakashi matched his student step for step, watching her and not the surroundings.

Their destination caught him by surprise. This was not the Haruno house.

The cemetary was small, tucked behind a bakery and a potter. It seemed the rest of the village had forgotten this place. The grass grew shin-high between the faded tombstones. In the center, a cherry tree grew twisted and gnarled. 

“My aunt and uncle are buried here,” Sakura said. “My mother’s brother and my father’s sister. They were both shinobi. Died in the last war. Eastern front. Mother never talks about her brother, but I grew up on stories of my aunt.” 

Kakashi closed his eyes.  _ Well this puts things in context. No wonder they’ve got shinobi issues _ . 

Sakura picked her way over to the cherry tree and sat down beside it. She brushed the nearest headstone with her fingertips and smiled. 

Kakashi stepped closer and frowned at the inscription, “Hanako Haruno-- beloved daughter and little sister, gone too soon, taken for a shinobi and abandoned on the battlefield, may her memory live on in the sakura blossoms she loved so dearly.” 

_ She was 11. _

“I have my aunt’s journal. I found it a box of her things that Dad gave me when I started the academy. She kept it all through the academy and the war. I never met her, but I feel like I did. She’s the reason I wanted to go to the academy.”

“That’s one hell of a legacy, Sakura.” 

Sakura shrugged. “Mom thought when I got to the academy and someone hit me for the first time, I’d decide it wasn’t worth it. She was wrong.”

Sakur picked a handful of grass blades and began to weave them together as she talked. “I got my first black eye the day we learned about the Third War. I gave Choji one back. I was so angry just thinking about everyone who died over nothing, stupid greed.”

Sakura finished the little grass wreath and put it over the edge of her aunt’s headstone. “Hanako wrote a lot about why she enrolled in the academy. There were recruiters coming door to door, trying to get more kids into training. All she wanted to do was help people and protect her family. My grandparents were thrilled that she could get the best education in Konoha for free. They had no idea she’d be off to the war in a little over a year.”

Kakashi nodded. He remembered those days. The village was desperate. They were trying to recruit every able bodied individual-- kids, adults, clan, and civilian. 

“I thought in the diplomatic corp I could help stop the next war from ever starting. Then you picked me.”

“Sakura,” Kakashi sighed. “If you want to go to the diplomatic corp…”

Sakura cut him off. “I don’t. What we did in the Land of Waves was important. The diplomatic corp wouldn't have cared about Tazuna. The country is too small to be a threat or an important ally. It’s not a priority. They would have just signed a new trade treaty with Gatou.” 

Kakashi’s face softened. 

Sakura took a deep breath and stared up at the tree. It wasn’t in bloom this time of year, but its leaves were thick and the fruit was just beginning to ripen. “I’d be lying if I said being a shinobi didn’t scare me,” Sakura admitted. “I don’t want to die, but I also don’t want to live a meaningless life. As long as you think I’m good enough to be a shinobi, I’m going to keep training and fighting.”

Kakashi sat down in the grass in front of Sakura. “I wouldn’t have picked you if I didn’t think you could do it. You’re smart, brave, and stronger than people give you credit for being.”

Sakura smiled. “Thanks, Kakashi-Sensei. It’s nice to have someone who doesn’t think I’m crazy.”

A breeze rippled through the grass. Birds were singing and the sun was shining.

The pair sat in silence for a long time.

Kakashi’s eyes were heavy. Exhaustion was finally catching up to him.

“Can I ask you a question?” Sakura asked.

Kakashi’s eye flickered open. 

“When I first ended up on your team, Mom and Dad had a lot to say about you,” Sakura licked her lips, “about your history and reputation. I think they were trying to scare me away from Team 7, but then I found this bit in my aunt’s journal where she talks about this shinobi. She never mentions his name, just calls him the Copy Ninja and talks about everything he’s sacrificed for the war. I think she looked up to him.”

Kakashi’d gone very still. “Is there a question in there?” he asked.

“My aunt was at the eastern front when the Copy Ninja drove a whole unit of Kiri’s elite forces back across the border and burned the bridge. That’s you, right? That’s what Zabuza called you, right?” Sakura tilted her head to the side and regarded Kakashi with those bright green eyes.

Kakashi nodded. “We didn’t have the manpower to hold the border after the swordsmen arrived. Lost a lot of good shinobi on the eastern front.” He could smell the bridge burning and hear the screams of the dying. He could feel the blood under his fingernails. When water had failed to wash the stain of Rin’s blood from his hand, Kakashi had joined a group of miscellaneous chuunin and gone to the heaviest fighting he could find. He did his best to wash away her blood with that of the village that doomed her.

“Did you really kill your team?” Sakura’s voice was surprisingly gentle.

Kakashi nodded. “Yeah,” his voice cracked. “I had lots of names back then. Copy-Nin and Friend Killer were the 2 that stuck the best.”

“What happened?”

“Obito was crushed by a falling rock. It wasn’t my fault, but it was. We were only there because of mistakes I made as the squad leader.” Kakashi touched his covered eye. “He gave me his eye as he was dying, so that I could look after our other teammate. Her name was Rin.”

“What happened to Rin?”

“Kiri turned her into a bomb by sealing one of the tailed-beasts inside of her. The seal could be unraveled by anyone anywhere in the world with a single hand sign. I thought if I could get her back to the village our jinchuuriki could help her. Rin didn’t want to risk it.”

Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut. He could see it now, the way the Kiri-nin herded them closer to the border, driving them towards Konoha. Kakashi’d meant to kill them and take Rin to the Southern front, to Minato. “We got into a fight trying to escape the Kiri-nin and Rin jumped in front of my jutsu. I crushed her heart, just like Haku. She thought a high level lightning jutsu might damage her chakra network enough to keep the chakra demon inside her corpse for a while and she knew I wouldn’t hurt her on purpose.”

Kakashi could see Rin’s last smile, blood running out of her mouth. “Sorry, Kakashi.”

“Did it work?” Sakura asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe. The demon never manifested its physical form, so maybe she was right. Her death still released enough chakra to knock me out.”

Kakashi didn’t open his eyes. The birdsong sounded like chidori. Rin’s face overlapped with Haku’s in his mind. Kakashi was shaking. “We were just kids. We did the best we could, but kids aren’t meant to do what we did.”

Kakashi flinched when something brushed his hand.

Sakura saw her sensei go white beneath his mask. She crawled over to him and reached for his hand.

Sakura uncurled Kakashi’s fist and threaded her fingers between his. Then she leaned against his shoulder and just sat there with him.

After several minutes, Kakashi squeezed Sakura’s hand and opened his eye.

“Are you okay Kakashi-sensei?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s my line,” Kakashi mumbled.

Sakura snorted. “If I’m yours, you’re mine.”

Kakashi didn’t know what to say to that.

“People are mean. It wasn’t your fault. None of it was,” Sakura added firmly.

Kakashi sighed. “It was all classified at the time. The missions we were on were top secret. All the village knew was I came home with Obito’s sharingan and his family had to bury an empty box. Then I came home with Rin’s body. It was pretty obvious what killed her, who killed her.”

Sakura didn’t know what to say to that. She couldn’t even imagine that sort of loss. 

“Again, if you want to go to the diplomatic corps…”

Sakura nudged Kakashi with her shoulder. “I made you a promise the morning before the bell test.”

“Red kunai blossoms, blue shinobi tears, pink broken hearts, and dandelions,” Kakashi mumbled. He could see the little ring of flowers, their stems braided together so carefully.

Sakura’s eyes widened. “I didn’t think you’d remember.” 

“You made the most solemn of oaths a shinobi can make on your first day. I remember.”

Sakura smiled. “I meant it. I still do.”

Kakashi nodded. “I made you a promise too,” he whispered. “I’m doing everything I can to keep you safe, all of you.”

Sakura squeezed Kakashi’s hand and looked up at him with eyes full of trust and admiration. “I trust you.”

They lapsed back into silence. “Sakura.”

“Hmmm?”

“Will you let me talk to your parents? I think I might be able to talk them around now that I have a better understanding of where they’re coming from.”

Sakura was quiet for a minute. “I trust you,” she repeated.

\--- 

The Haruno’s opened the door to find their daughter and her sensei on the front step.

Sakura’s father, Kizashi, was a bear of a man with a gentle heart. He saw his daughter and his eyes filled with tears. She was wrapped in a hug before either shinobi could open their mouth.

Then Mebuki was there, holding her daughter, stroking her hair, and sobbing apologies.

It took a second, but then Sakura had her arms around her mother and her face buried in the woman’s shoulder.

Kakashi just took a step back and let it happen. This was more or less what he had hoped for. The relief on the Harunos’ faces was genuine.

Mebuki steered her daughter inside.

Kizashi motioned for Kakashi to come in too. “Thank you for bringing her home,” Kizashi murmured as Kakashi stepped inside.

Mebuki settled Sakura at the kitchen table. She fussed over the bandages of Sakura’s arm.

The two men lingered in the living room.

“It’s okay,” Sakura soothed her mother. “It looks worse than it is. Kakashi-sensei patched me up and it’s already starting to heal.”

Mebuki glanced between her daughter and the Jounin, her expression unreadable.

“We’ve been worried. Sakura said you’d be gone a week. It’s been two and a half. We thought maybe she’d decided to stay somewhere else, so we checked with the mission office. We checked everyday after that first week and all they could or would say is that you were all overdue back,” Kizashi explained.

“The mission ended up being more important than we were led to believe in the contract,” Kakashi replied. “I’m sure Sakura will tell you about it. She did very well. You’ve raised a kind, clever, and brave daughter.”

Kizashi smiled sadly. “Sakura doesn’t tell us much about her missions.”

“She’s under the impression that it upsets you.”

Kizashi’s smile faltered and guilt flashed across his face. “I see.” he sighed. “You must think we’re terrible parents for not supporting our daughter, for trying everything to turn her off the path she chose.”

Kakashi picked his words carefully. “I think you love her very much and you want to protect her.”

“This isn’t the life we wanted for her. She was supposed to grow up safe and loved, not fighting for her life in the middle of nowhere.”

“You can’t guarantee safe. No one can. Loved though? That’s totally within your power.”

Kakashi left Kizashi thinking and stepped into the kitchen.

Mebuki had Sakura’s arm unbandaged and was looking over the stitches. She didn't look up when the jounin walked in. 

“Did Sakura tell you she’s got a bridge named after her?” Kakashi asked.

Sakura blushed.

Mebuki raised an eyebrow.

“She saved the Land of Wave’s chief architect and helped free the country from a dictator,” Kakashi added.

Mebuki’s jaw dropped.

“Your daughter is a skilled shinobi. I thought knowing that might help you worry less.”

Mebuki nodded. She carefully looked at her daughter, “Did you really do all that?” There was a note of awe in the woman’s voice.

Sakura smiled, just a little bit. “Kakashi-sensei’s being a bit generous. I mostly just guarded Tazuna. I didn’t fight in the battle of the bridge, but our mission was important.”

“A man got to go home to his family because of Sakura. She saved his life,” Kakashi added.

After letting her mom fuss for a while longer, Sakura pulled away. “I’m going to go put my things away.”

The relief on Mebuki’s face when her daughter went upstairs made the woman look 10 years younger.

“I wasn’t sure if she was going to stay,” Mebuki said. “As a shinobi, the village considers her an adult. I can’t make her stay here.”

Kakashi sighed. “Yeah, I heard the 2 of you butted heads.”

“I was just trying to--”

Kakashi cut her off. “I’m not here to judge. I’ve never been in your position and I never will be. I lost both of my parents before I graduated the academy. I was raised to be a shinobi and had no choice but to do the same to both of my boys.”

“I don’t understand that. How can you send someone you love into war?”

“A jinchuuriki and the last Uchiha? The village would have sent them to war with or without my involvement. All I can do is protect them for as long as I can and make sure they have the skills and the strength to protect themselves when I can’t.”

Mebuki’s eyes widened. She hadn’t considered that a peaceful life might be a privilege not everyone had.

“But, I’m not here to talk about my parenting,” Kakashi steered them back on topic. “You can’t force Sakura to quit and your trying is hurting her. She needs a support system to come home to after missions. She needs people to accept and care for her. If you can’t do that, I need to know so I can make sure she’s getting that support somewhere else. Shinobi who don’t have that aren’t the ones who live long, happy lives.” 

He thought of Obito who grew up between Shisui and Itachi’s shadows, the crybaby who died trying to prove himself. He thought of Rin who’d left home at 13 and called Minato ‘Dad’ outside of missions. He thought of himself, how far he’d spiralled at 10 years old while living in a dark, empty house.

Mebuki ducked her head so the shinobi wouldn’t see her tears. “I understand.”

“If it makes it any easier, I swear as long as I can, I’ll look after her like she’s mine.”

Mebuki nodded.

“And, I meant what I said. Sakura’s got a lot of potential. She’s stronger than you think.”

Mebuki let out a humorless chuckle. “Oh, I know how strong she is. She got her stubborn streak from me. Between that and her father’s righteous moral compass, I should have known this is the path she’d choose. I should have known and prepared her for it instead of fighting her every step of the way, but I don’t want to lose her.”

Kakashi put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. 

Mebuki looked up at Kakashi curiously. “You’re not what I thought you were.”

Kakashi shrugged. “I’ve got to get going. I need to deliver our mission report to the hokage.”

Kakashi left the Haruno house feeling better about the situation. It was something he’d need to keep an eye on, but it seemed like this was the wakeup call Sakura’s parents needed.

\---

A week later, Kakashi was putting Sakura and Naruto through their taijutsu paces at the training grounds. 

Sasuke, who hadn’t been cleared by the medic yet due to his still healing injuries, was sitting off to the side watching with his sharingan. Occasionally he’d call out comments.

It was almost noon when they stopped for a water break and Kakashi spotted a familiar figure lingering at the edge of the training ground. Mebuki looked out of place, dressed very obviously like a civilian, but she stood tall and proud. 

While Naruto wandered over to pester Saskue, Kakashi nudged Sakura and nodded towards the woman.

Sakura’s eyes widened. “She asked if she could watch my training, but I didn’t actually think she’d show up.”

“Things been better?” Kakashi asked softly.

Sakura nodded. “Yeah. Mom and Dad both sat me down and apologized. They said they were proud of me and they’ve been working really hard to show that they meant it.” Sakura pulled a kunai out of her pouch and showed Kakashi. “I think they’d still like me to quit, but they’re not trying to talk me into it anymore. I don’t know what you said to them, but it won them over. They said they trust me to take care of myself and they trust you.”

_ No pressure _ , Kakashi thought.

The kunai wasn’t a typical kunai. The metal was a bit thicker than standard, more like the sturdy custom gear of an anbu, and near the hilt a small cherry blossom was debossed. 

“Dad gave me these,” Sakura said with a smile. "We talked a lot about Hanako and the academy and this last mission and I think he understands. Afterwards, I heard him 'translating' for mom." Sakura put air quotes around translating. "Sometimes I think we're so alike that it's hard to talk to her. We used to be really close. I hope we can be again."

“I think your Mom wants to come say hi,” Kakashi said. 

Sakura blushed. “Is that okay?”

“Sure. It’s about time for a lunch break anyway.”

Sakura smiled and jogged across the field.

Kakashi went to go figure out what his boys were squabbling about.

“Sasuke says I’m dropping my left arm when I throw a kick,” Naruto mumbled.

“You are,” Kakashi agreed.

Naruto groaned. “I thought I fixed that.”

“Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura called.

Kakashi turned around to see Mebuki standing just behind her daughter. Sakura was holding a picnic basket.

“Sakura said you were going to have a long day today, so I brought lunch,” Mebuki explained and gestured at the basket Sakura was holding.

Kakashi’s eyes widened. “That’s very thoughtful. Would you like to stay for a while?”

“I have to get back to the shop and I wouldn’t want to interrupt.” Mebuki bowed slightly and turned to go. 

Sakura grabbed her mom’s arm. “Mom, I want you to meet Naruto and Sasuke,” She steered her mom towards the boys.

Sasuke quickly deactivated his sharingan, but Mebuki still caught a glimpse of crimson before his eyes faded to black.

Naruto popped to his feet with a grin and then tugged Sasuke up. 

Both boys bowed to Mebuki and gave her their most charming smiles.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Haruno. Thank you for bringing lunch.” Naruto said it so sweetly, that Mebuki had to smile back.

Kakashi suppressed a snicker. Another victory for the sunshine child. 

“One of these days you’ll all have to come over for dinner, so we can properly meet Sakura’s team,” Mebuki said. She smiled at Kakashi, trying to show that the offer wasn’t just made out of politeness.

“We’d love to.”

Sakura just beamed.

\---

That night, after the boys went to bed, Kakashi laid on the couch and flipped open _Memories from the Battlefield: An Anthology of the Thirds Great War_. On the second page of chapter 9 was a picture of Team Minato at Kakashi's promotion ceremony and a letter from Minato to Kushina. The letter had been found years after his death behind a shelf in the Hokage's office. As the last person related to the letter still alive, they'd asked Kakashi's permission to add it to the collection. He'd agreed on one condition.

After the reproduction of Minato's pointed, messy scrawl-- a full page detailing his pride in his students, his hopes for their future, and his fears-- was one cleanly printed line. "We were children. We did the best we could, but children were never meant to do and see what we did. May the next generation never become us."

The book had stirred a good deal of controversy. It had dozens of testimony form shinobi that questioned orders, clan politics, and the whole training philosophy the academy was built on. It painted the war as a bloody mess with child soldiers on both sides who had no idea why or how they ended up on the battlefield. The crowning jewel was a letter from the Fourth Hokage expressing doubts about the shinobi system. People were scandalized.

Kakashi ran his finger across the picture. Rin was beaming at him. Obito was trying to put bunny ears behind Kakashi and Minato was in the middle of shoving Obito's hand down.

Kakashi thought he could see the fainted trace of a smile under his mask.

Pakkun hooped on the couch and wiggled his way onto Kakashi's chest. "Moping?" Pakkun asked.

"No. Just thinking," Kakashi said. He turned the book so Pakkun could see the picture. "We were so small and despite everything, happy."

"Not that tiny you would have admitted it," Pakkun said.

Kakashi snorted. "I would have died before admitting how good that day was. I felt like I'd finally made it out of my father's shadow and for just a minute I had a family again."

Pakkun nuzzled Kakashi's cheek.

"I feel that way again now," Kakashi mumbled. "I've got you and the pack. I've got my kids, all 3 of them, and my friends. It's a lot to lose."

Pakkun nodded. "None of us are helpless."

"I know. It's just this last mission brought back lots of memories."

"You haven't had as many nightmares as I expected."

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura asked about Rin and Obito."

Pakkun narrowed his eyes at Kakashi. "What did you tell her?"

"The truth. She'd already heard it from her parents and a couple of books."

"That can't have been easy. Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

Kakashi ruffled the dog's ears. "Because it wasn't bad. I mean it hurts to talk about it and I was terrified that she'd be sacred of me, but she wasn't. She told me it wasn't my fault."

Pakkun huffed and leaned into Kakashi's touch. "It wasn't your fault. We've gone over this."

"I know, but it was just different this time."

"Does she remind you of Rin?" Pakkun asked. He'd wondered if the comparison had been a factor in Kakashi's choice of Team 7's third.

Kakashi laughed. "Ignoring the fact that she's a girl around Rin's age? Not a bit. She sees the world through such different eyes. Her personality is different and so are her hopes and dreams. If anything reminds me of Rin, it's her potential." 

"So why are you avoiding bed and looking at old pictures?"

"Told you, just thinking. Minato's letter makes more sense with every year that passes. I wish I could talk to him. There's so many things about being a teacher and parent that I want to ask. I don't want to mess this up."

Pakkun chuckled. "Go to bed, Kakashi."

The jounin sighed and set down his book. He hugged Pakkun to his chest and grinned when the ninken protested the indignity. "Alright, but if I mess this up, you'l have to take over running the team."

"Great. I'll teach them how to hunt squirrels. They'll love it."

"You never taught me how to hunt squirrels," Kakashi said in mock indignation as he carried Pakkun to bed.

"Never too late," the dog muttered. He snuggled into the blankets and Kakashi followed suit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Thoughts on the Haruno Family:  
> I had a hard time deciding how to handle Sakura's parents, but it was time for them to make an appearance. They will undoubtedly be back. I was going for protective and somewhat clueless civilians with similar personalities to the anime. They appear way later in canon (well into shippuden) and it seems like Sakura and her mom have pretty similar stubborn, personalities. I like the lighthearted teasing and snark between them that we get to see a little bit of, but I feel like that sort of dynamic could have led to them butting heads a lot through the early teenage years. Her dad just kind of comes across as a sweet, kind of goofy man. I think he and Naruto are going to get along.
> 
> I also wanted to give Sakura an actual reason for wanting to be a shinobi that's not an tragic backstory or being raised into the life. I can't imagine a civilian family just deciding that they're going to encourage their kid to go be a shinobi, especially with great war still in living memory. I think it'd be more likely for Sakura to choose it and steer herself in that direction without her parents really realizing how deep she was in. I imagine in this AU, she had a pretty happy childhood and a good bit of hero worship for her aunt.
> 
> But I also read a couple really great, emotional, angsty stories where Sakura's parents basically disown her for being a shinobi and was really tempted to go that route. It just didn't feel right here. Plus, Kakashi could use some more adult friends with adult responsibilities in this AU.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one are for unbentglass.

Kakashi lingered on the edge of the training grounds. His kids had arrived several minutes earlier and were going through their stretches out in the open grassy area alongside Team Asuma’s genin.

“You are surprisingly on time,” Asuma commented as he appeared beside Kakashi in a flicker. “Figured I’d have time for a smoke break before we got started.”

Kakashi shrugged. “The kids are all still warming up, so you’ve got time.”

Asuma chuckled. He pulled a cigarette and his lighter out of the pouch on his belt.

The bitter scent of tobacco hit Kakashi’s nose and the silver haired jounin pulled a face. “You know those things will kill you,” Kakashi mumbled and raised an eyebrow at the other jounin.

Asuma snorted. “Like I’m going to live that long.”

Kakashi rolled his eye. “Talking like that will also kill you.”

Asuma punched Kakashi’s shoulder lightly. “You’re just grumpy because you don’t like the smell and for once someone kept you waiting.”

“They aren’t even good tobacco,” Kakashi grumbled. He sniffed. “It’s like a burning dumpster mixed with a stale ashtray.”

“Now that’s just rude.” Asuma took a long drag and sighed contentedly. The morning was cool, but the cloudless sky promised a hot afternoon. “So what’s the plan? This party was your idea.”

“I was thinking capture the flag or something like that. Get my kids practice against opponents who work together and have actual strategies. Get your kids practice against opponents who throw a punch like they mean it.”

Asuma chuckled. “Bold words from the guy whose genin are currently wearing flower crowns.”

Kakashi glanced towards the training grounds and sure enough Naruto was grinning with a daisy chain in his hair and Sasuke was trying to dodge a matching ring of flowers in Sakura’s hands. He was successful until Ino decided to join in. Afterwards, the 2 kunoichi turned their eyes on Shikamaru and Choji. Neither of Asuma’s boys bothered to resist.

Asuma winced while Kakashi smirked. 

“Well it’s pretty obvious who's in charge,” Kakashi said dryly. 

“Aren’t the girls always in charge?” Asuma ground out his cigarette in the dirt and tucked the butt back in his pouch. “Capture the flag sounds good. Maybe we can mix up the teams after a couple rounds, see how they all do on the fly.”

\---

Kakashi tied a scrap of red cloth to the end of a large stick while Asuma explained the exercise to 6 wide-eyed genin with flowers in their hair.

They’d take turns being either the attacking or the defending team.

The defending team would have 15 minutes to come up with a plan, choose their flag’s location, lay traps, and otherwise prepare. 

The attacking team would then have 30 minutes to try to capture the flag and return it to Kakashi and Asuma. 

Following each round, they’d take 15 minutes to discuss what worked well for each side and how to improve. Then, they’d switch roles and repeat.

The boundaries for the exercise were defined as the entirety of Training Ground 6 which encompassed the wide, grassy field and a couple acres of forest. There were a handful of streams and rock formations along with a good mix of dense underbrush and easily navigated canopy. 

As Asuma described the terrain and the rules, he could see Shikamaru thinking. The Nara had a faraway look on his face that most would mistake for daydreaming, but his hands were clasped in his lap. Ino and Choji both watched their sensei intently.

Asuma had to hold back a grin. He was confident his team would prove themselves a far more mature and competent team. Naruto appeared to actually be daydreaming and Sakura had her eyes on Sasuke more often than Asuma. The Uchiha appeared to be the only one of Team 7 to actually give the exercise his full attention.

“The flag can’t be buried. It needs to be at least 4 feet off the ground. We aren’t going to restrict the techniques you can use, but no killing and no maiming. We’re trusting your judgement and control, but will intervene if necessary,” Asuma explained. “Don’t make us intervene.” There was a dangerous edge to the jounin’s voice that caught the genins’ attention.

Kakashi planted the flag in the ground beside Asuma. “Team Asuma’s got defense first. Time starts now.”

There was a brief moment of panic as the kids all scrambled to their feet. “Choji, grab the flag,” Ino ordered. She had Shikamaru by the wrist and was already making a beeline for the treeline.

Choji grinned, grabbed the flag, and followed the rest of Team 10 towards the forest while Team 7 watched.

\---

Shikamaru crouched in the shadow of a bolder several times his size and grinned.  _ This place is perfect. _

The boulder Shikamaru was using for cover was part of a pile in the middle of a small clearing. The flag was wedged between two boulders near the top, fluttering in the breeze. 

They had a stream, fast and waist deep, to their back, a nasty blackberry thicket that prevented an approach from 2 other sides, and the trees here were pine with thin branches and dense needles. The easiest way to approach the clearing was head on, straight into a patch of shadow Shikamaru was perfectly positioned to control. A barrage of paper bombs and wire traps fortified every approach but the one Shikamaru wanted Team 7 to use.

Ino was tucked in one of the pine trees. She’d dug a couple kunai into the trunk to give herself a steady foot hold and used a bit of rope to tie herself in place. When Shikamaru caught someone, she was in a perfect position to use her mind possession jutsus or to rain down weapons, smoke bombs, and other assistance.

Choji was on patrol around the rock pile. When Team 7 made it close, he’d use an expansion jutsu to go full cannonball. It wouldn’t matter how many clones Naruto sent in. Once they were in the clearing, they were trapped. It was like bowling with the bumpers on, Choji couldn’t miss.

“This better work,” Ino grumbled into the coms. This wasn’t the location she’d wanted, not that Shikamaru’s plan didn’t sound great, the pine tree was just really uncomfortable.

The scent of pine was overwhelming between the pollen and the cuts she’d made with her kunai. It tickled her nose and throat. The pollen coated her clothes and there was sap in her hair. 

“It’ll work,” Shikamaru said.

Ino didn’t say anything, just shifted slightly. The rope around her waist was digging into her stomach. Ino had to put more of her weight on the rope than was comfortable because of the instability of the branches. Too much weight on the kunai she was using for a foothold and they’d come loose.  _ Pine is a soft wood, not ideal for this set up _ . If they’d had more time, Ino would have made a harness to go around her shoulders out of the rope.

In the distance a paper bomb went off. Team 7 was on their way.

Team 7 circled the clearing three times. Traps and thin branches forced them to do it on the ground. 

Standing on the opposite side of the stream, they could see the flag.

The stream was deceptively calm on the surface. 

Sakura took one step into the water and found it already up to her thigh. The current tugged her off balance and the rocks were slick with moss.

Sasuke steadied her from the bank and shook his head when Naruto asked if they could swim it.

Next, Team 7 turned their eyes on the brambles. 

“Maybe if we stuck low to the ground we could crawl under the worst of it?” Naruto suggested.

Sakura stepped closer and frowned. She tipped her head from side to side and shifted to get a better view without going any further. “I’m pretty sure I can see trap wire mixed in. Sasuke?”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, sharingan spinning to life. His vision sharpened and when he shifted, he could see the same glint of metallic wire that had caught Sakura’s eye in clear relief. “Yeah, the whole thicket is full of it. I can’t see what it’s tied to. It could be attached to nothing, just meant to tangle us up. They didn’t have a ton of time…”

“Not worth the risk,” Sakura mumbled. 

“We don’t have a ton of time either,” Naruto reminded them. It had taken at least half of their 30 minutes to find this place and another several to circle the clearing. They were getting dangerously close to giving Team 10 a win without any sort of fight.

“Send a clone?” Sakura suggested.

Naruto was on it. A clone popped into existence and army crawled into the bramble. When he brushed the first of the wires, it wrapped around him like a snare. The more the clone wiggled to free himself, the tighter the wire got until the wire cut into flesh and the clone popped out of existence.

Naruto shuddered as the sensation of tightening wires registered in his mind. “Yeah, no. We’re not doing that.”

“Obvious trap it is then,” Sasuke sighed.

Team 7 stood on the edge of the shadowed entrance to the clearing.

“Shika can’t control a bunch of people at once,” Naruto said. He summoned a dozen clones.

Sasuke and Sakura both nodded and smiled. If tactics and time weren’t in their favor, at least brute force was. 

They charged the clearing. 

“Ino, thin the clones out!” Shikamaru said into the coms. He gritted his teeth and threw his chakra into the shadows, aiming for the 2 he knew to be real. 

Sasuke and Sakura staggered to a stop along with 3 of the clones.

Kunai and shuriken rained down, dispersing 4 more clones.

5 Narutos made it to the clearing.

“Choji!” Shikamaru growled through gritted teeth. Sweat needed his brow as the captured shinobi fought his jutsu.  _ 30 more seconds. That’s all we need to hold out. _

Naruto heard Shikamaru call Choji’s name and paused to locate the third member of Team 10. That was his fatal mistake. 

Choji slammed into the little cluster of blond shinobi, the clones poofed and the real Naruto went flying.

“TIME!” Kakashi and Asuma’s voices echoed through the forest. 

Shikamaru sighed and released his jutsu. He flopped down on the ground and grinned up at the sky. It had all gone exactly according to plan.

Choji returned to his normal side and jogged over to check on a dazed Naruto.

Ino carefully undid the knotted rope around her waist and dropped out of the tree.

“Well?” Ino asked when the 2 jounin shushinned into the clearing. 

Asuma gestured for Kakashi to speak first. “Your choice of location and preparation were textbook. You played to each others’ skills and acted without hesitation.”

Shikamaru grinned.

Kakashi cut off any celebration. “I do have 2 critiques. First, you gambled on Team 7 not knowing how to water walk. This time it worked out, but don’t get into that habit. We teach tree climbing first in Konoha, because it’s most useful to us. Other villages teach water walking or sand walking first. Second, you weren’t prepared for the number of opponents you actually had to face. Your plan lacked flexibility. This is again where you gambled on your opponents’ not having certain skills and this time, you were wrong.”

Shikamaru shrugged. Both were true.

Asuma nodded. “I’ll just point out that if Naruto hadn’t hesitated, he’d have been on the boulders before Choji got to him and cannonballs don’t climb well.”

Asuma then turned to Team 7. “Your cautious approach was good. You evaluated and tested the defenses very effectively and you knew you were walking into a trap. I’ve got to give you credit for creativity, trying to overwhelm the trap with numbers. It would have been better to have some of the clones be intangible so that they continue to provide you with a chaotic cover even under fire and transform some to look like Sasuke and Sakura so that they aren’t immediate, obvious targets.”

Naruto winced. He still struggled with supposedly much easier intangible clones. 

“Sasuke and Sakura, you’ve gotten used to Naruto providing the clones and that reduced the effectiveness of your plan,” Kakashi added. He looked at Sasuke. “Did we say at any point that you couldn’t damage or reshape your environment?”

The 6 genin glanced at each other in confusion. 

Kakashi grinned under his mask. He saw understanding dawn on the Uchiha’s face. Bushes and tripwire both burn.

“Let’s set up for round 2,” Asuma declared. “Team 7 is on the defensive this time.”

\---

The second round ended up much the same as the first, with time running out just before the party really got started.

Team 7 spent a good 10 minutes of their prep time scouting the area.

They settled on a small, grassy knoll. 

The forest thinned several yards before the base of the hill and with noon approaching. Shikamaru would have little shadow to work with. 

The slope of the slope of the hill was enough to prevent Choji from cannonballing over them. 

With little time remaining, Team 7 didn’t bother with complex traps. Tripwires would only give Shikamaru more shadow to work with. 15 explosive tags spread around the closest trees were going to have to be enough.

Naruto created a dozen clones and made a ring around the flag.

Sakura and Sasuke took places halfway down the hill on opposite sides. They’d be the first line of dense with ranged attacks. Sakura had the bulk of the team's shuriken and kunai while Sasuke was ready with his fireball jutsu.

It took Team 10 fifteen minutes to find Team 7. The scattered explosives forced them to keep their distance and keep moving for another 10 minutes.

When the forest had been silent for 3 minutes, Team 10 decided they must have triggered the last of the paper bombs, and moved in.

They couldn’t get past the last of the trees. Fire and steel were effective deterrents and intangible clones were a useless diversion against Sasuke’s eyes.

Under the cover of a fallen log, Shikamaru turned to Ino. “Are we close enough for you to take control of Sasuke?”

Ino poked her head up and frowned. The Uchiha was right at the edge of her range. “Maybe, probably.”

“Do it,” Shikamaru said. “With his sharingan out of the way, we can confuse the other two with intangible clones. If you can force him to use a fireball on Naruto’s clones, bonus points.”

Ino nodded. She made the signs and slumped to the ground as her mind hurtled towards Sasuke.

When the Uchiha stiffened and turned up the hill to face Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji broke cover and ran for the flag. 

Controlling Sasuke was disorentating. Ino’s head ached, or maybe it was Sasuke’s head? They saw too much-- each blade of grass and bead of sweat on Naruto’s forehead was as crystal clear as the hand Ino made them wave in front of their face. The colors were too much and Ino thought she was going to be sick. 

It was all Ino could do to maintain control of Sasuke’s body as disorenting as his mind was. Using his jutsus was totally out of the question.

Shikamaru and Choji were engaged with Naruto, the clones, and Sakura. 

The fight could still go either way.

“TIME!” Asuma and Kakashi called.

Ino released Sasuke and relaxed into the darkness that dominated her mind’s return to her body. The darkness was usually stifling and Ino always hated how out of control she felt as a disembodied consciousness floating through space, but after the chaotic sensory overload that was Sasuke’s vision the darkness was welcome.

The senseis’ critiques were again much the same. Team 10 gambled on their opponents weakness and it had only half paid off. Team 7 was surprisingly methodical in their execution of a textbook defensive set up, but in Kakashi’s words, it felt like they were each fighting their own battle, dividing and conquering rather than working together.

\---

Things became more heated in the following rounds.

Sasuke incinerated the bushed Team 10 thought impenetrable and Team 7 claimed the flag.

Ino took control of Sakura’s mind. She put a kunai in Naruto’s clones and threw a whole wad of explosive tags at Sasuke. That forced the Uchiha into Shikamaru’s shadow’s reach. Choji seized the flag.

When they broke for lunch, the 2 teams sat apart and strategized.

“We aren’t going to beat them with any formation out of the textbook,” Sakura sighed.

Sasuke flopped back on the grass. His head felt fuzzy, an after effect of Ino’s jutsu. “We’re really not set up for this sort of mission,” he mused.

“What do you mean?” Naruto frowned.

“We’re very offensively focused. We don’t have a genjutsuist or someone like Shikamaru who can disable opponents. We’re most effective on open terrain where I have a clear field of view and we can hold the enemy at a distance with ranged attacks or in close combat where we take them on one-on-one.”

“And they won’t let us fight them one-on-one,” Sakura added. 

“We also don’t have moves that compliment each other the way they do. We fight well together, but all of our moves are individual,” Sasuke continued. “Really, a team like ours is best on a battlefield or supported in these sort of defensive missions by someone like Team 10 or a lot of traps.”

“So why don’t we make them fight us on the battlefield?” Naruto asked.

“How?” Sasuke asked.

“We plant the flag here.” Naruto gestured at the grassy field.

“Without cover we’re sitting ducks for Ino’s mind switch and Choji can go wild with his cannonball jutsu,” Sasuke pointed out. He shuddered, remembering the sensation of Ino’s mind in his and the feeling helplessness.

“No, Naruto might actually have a point,” Sakura cut in. “Ino’s jutsu won’t work on shadow clones and Choji’s only a threat if we let him get moving. If we plant the flag out here and surround it with a lot of clones that look like all 3 of us and the real us wait in the forest, we can ambush Team 10 and force them into one-on-one fights.”

Sasuke hummed in thought. “Sure. Let’s give it a shot. I’ll take Shikamaru since I can see which shadows he’s got his chakra connected to. Naruto takes Ino, so he can confuse her with more clones, and you take care of Choji?”

Sakura nodded her agreement and Naruto just grinned.

\---

Team 10 froze in the face of 30 shinobi around the flag-- 10 of each of Team 7’s members. 

“What do we do?” Choji asked.

Shikamaru winced. “Try to figure out which are the real ones.” It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all he could come up with. There was no way they could take on that much fire power and they had to assume most of the clones were solid. 

Team 10 split up, creeping through the underbrush and sticking to the shadows. 

Shikamaru watched the clones from the cover of a fallen log, looking for some sort of pattern or difference in their movements.

Ino and Choji did the same.

From their hidden vantage point the 2 jounin were playing the same game. 

“This literally goes against all of the strategies they’ve learned,” Asuma mumbled. “It shouldn’t be this effective.”

Kakashi just pointed to a black berry thicket. A second later, Choji abandoned the cover of a boulder to skirt the bramble and a blur of pink dropped onto his shoulders from the canopy. 

Choji didn’t have a chance to scream.

Sakura had her hand over his mouth as soon as she hit him.

The force of Sakura’s impact dragging Choji to the ground.

They struggled. Choji had size on his side, but Sakura had momentum and the element of surprise. 

Sakura wrapped her legs around Choji’s chest like a wrestler and kept her hands firmly over his mouth. No matter how he flailed, he couldn't knoch her off. When one of her hands snaked around to put a kunai to his throat, he stopped fighting. In real combat, he'd be toast.

\---

A bush rustled off to Shikamaru’s left. He sent a shadow probing and got a flurry of shuriken in response. 

The Nara grinned. The game was on.

\---

Sasuke broke cover with Shikamaru’s shadow on his heels. The Uchiha jumped, twisted, and launched a fireball in a single motion. The fireball destroyed the last patch of shade Shikamaru had been aiming for as well as Sasuke’s shadow.    
  


Shikamaru’s eyes widened and he forced himself not to flinch as a volley of kunai tore through the fading fireball.

The kunai pierced Shikamaru’s clothes and pinned him to the oak tree at his back. None of them even nicked him.

Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief. Had he tried to dodge, he would probably have been hurt. He could see the crimson glow of Sasuke’s sharingan and realized that Sasuke probably didn’t realize he hadn’t left enough time for someone without dojutsu to dodge or block successfully.

_ Or maybe he was counting on me to be smart enough to not try dodging _ , Shikamaru thought. He refused to consider the idea that Sasuke wasn’t that concerned about some injuries.

\---

Ino and Naruto wove through the trees trading kunai. To keep Ino from getting a clean shot with her mind transfer, Naruto had to keep moving. To keep from taking a blade to his center of mass, he had to keep his hands occupied with his own kunai. 

Neither blond had the space to use their signature moves. It was a stalemate.

Naruto decided to gamble. Shadow clones took less hand signs than a mind transfer. He made a break for the field.

The 2 jounin saw Naruto and Ino break cover and recognized the hand signs they were forming.

“Shit!” both mumbled and disappeared in a swirl of wind.

They moved too late.

5 more Naruto poofed into existence a heartbeat before both Ino and the original Naruto collapsed to the ground.

The 2 jounin appeared over their respective genin and instinctively checked for a pulse.

Both kids were physically alright.

“Any idea what the mind switch jutsu does to a jinchuuriki?” Kakashi asked.

Asuma brushed the hair out of Ino’s face and fought the panic rising in his chest. “I was just going to ask you.”

\---

Ino was falling through the dark. Long after she should have either begun drifting back to her body or opened Naruto’s eyes, she was still falling blindly.

Then she hit the water.

Ino struggled in the dark. Her chest felt like it was going to burst before she clawed her way back to the surface and the dull, red glow.

Ino hauled her body onto a concrete ledge. It was bitterly cold. She shuddered and gagged. Everything felt wrong. Ino looked down and saw her own hands. She shouldn’t see her own hands. She shouldn’t be able to feel her long hair dripping water down her back and leaching the warmth from her skin.

Ino’s heart picked up speed.

A low rumble rippled through the air, almost inaudible. Ino could feel it in her bones.

Ino shifted, looking for the source. 

She saw the gates, 100 feet tall with their top shrouded in mist. Once golden and now tarnished, they hung open. There was only one thing that those gates could have been made for.

The rumble turned to laughter. It was cruel and deep and so loud.

Ino scrambled closer to the gates and pressed her back against the nearest one. She was shaking.

The lake or whatever she’d fallen into rippled and out of the mist that obscured the horizon stalked the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Ino suppressed a whimper and drew a kunai from her pouch. She was going to die like a shinobi. If the Fox meant to eat her, she was going to make it an unpleasant experience.

The Fox stopped too close for comfort. It leaned down and its muzzle was just out of Ino’s reach. Each breath of the beast sent a hot gust of wind into Ino’s face.

She just shook harder. The force of the chakra rolling off the creature was overwhelming. It’s tails twisted in delight and the Fox smiled.

It’s teeth were longer than Ino’s arm and as thick at the base as her neck.

“What do we have here?” the Fox asked. It’s voice was playful and teasing. “A child who thinks themselves a ninja or a snack?” The Fox’s tongue poked past its jaw, tasting the air.

The kunai slipped from Ino’s grip and clattered on the concrete. She fumbled for another, but her hands were shaking too hard to open the pouch.

The Fox laughed again. “You’re feisty. You’d be fun to play with. If I let you live, I’m sure you’ll grow into a great shinobi.”

Ino couldn’t say anything. The beast’s giant maw inched closer.

Ino squeezed her eyes shut. Tears ran down her face, but she managed to raise her trembling fists to a defensive position, not that it would do any good against the jaws that seemed about to close on her.

“Knock it OFF!”

Ino’s eyes flickered open in time to see Naruto fall out of the misty sky and land between her and the Fox’s teeth. 

“Decided to join the party?” the Fox asked.

“PWAP!” 

The Fox hissed and took a step back, pulling its face out of range of the giant roll of newspaper that had appeared in Naruto’s hands. 

“Seriously?” Naruto snapped. “You know I’m training with my classmates. She’s a friend.”

The Fox huffed and Ino swore it almost looked indignant. “Good thing. Were she an enemy, no doubt she’d have put a knife in your back already and I’d be the sole occupant of this vessel. Far safer to just let me teacher meddling little Yamanakas not to play with things their minds can’t comprehend.”

“Kurama, I said to knock it off. You’re just scaring her because you got bored with capture the flag.”

The Fox sighed and gave Naruto a baleful look. “You lot are so peaceful. I was promised war games and I got burning bushes and pulled blows.”

Naruto crossed his arms and glared at the Fox.

The Fox looked away first. “Alright. I’ll leave her in your hands. Next time, do try to stop the Yamanaka before they make it into your head or I will eat the next one.” Then the Fox padded past Naruto and Ino into the gloom of the den that had once been its prison.

Naruto turned to watch it disappear into the darkness and once he couldn’t see the glow of Kurama’s chakra, he crouched down to check on Ino.

“Sorry about that.” Naruto smiled, trying to be reassuring, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He was searching Ino’s face for the revulsion and hatred he’d come to expect as soon as the fear faded.

Ino didn’t say anything at first. She scrubbed the tears out of her eyes and picked her kunai up off the ground. Then, Ino stood up and Naruto did the same.

“Did you just swat the Nine-Tailed Fox with a rolled up newspaper?” Ino’s voice was shaky.

Naruto shrugged. “Works on dogs and foxes and kind of like dogs.”

“Where did you get a newspaper? What is this place? How did we get here?”

“It’s my head, so I just imagined a newspaper.”

Ino shook her head. “This isn’t your mind. I can’t feel any of your chakra or your memories.”

Naruto scratched his head. “I guess it’s not totally mine. This is sort of the neutral territory between Kurama and me.”

“Kurama?”

“The Fox. That’s his name. He’s really not as bad as he seems. We’re still working on his people skills. He doesn’t get to meet very many people after all.” Naruto laughed a little at the end and gave Ino another sweet smile.

Ino just stared at Naruto with a calculating expression. “Why are the gates open?”

“It’s just how the seal works,” Naruto figured a half truth was good enough.

Ino nodded. Her expression didn’t change.

“I promise you’re safe. I can control Kurama. I’m not a monster.” Naruto’s smiling mask slipped at the end.

Ino saw fear flash across Naruto’s face on the word monster and her face softened. “Let’s just get out of here.”

Naruto nodded and the world dissolved.

Ino formed the release seal, unsure if that would work without having control of Naruto’s body.

Either it worked or Naruto managed to shove her out of his head, because Ino felt herself go drifting back through the darkness towards her body and she’d never been so relieved.

\---

Both blonds blinked their eyes open to find 6 concerned faces overhead.

“You okay?” Asuma asked. 

Ino nodded. “It didn’t work. It was like I bounced off and my mind got lost.” She was proud that her voice didn’t even waver.

Naruto heard Ino lie and the knot in his throat loosened. He rubbed his head and smiled up at everyone. “That felt weird. I guess I just blacked out when the jutsu hit.”

Both jounin looked skeptical, but neither pressed the issue.

“I think we can call it for the day,” Kakashi suggested. “Seems like everyone is pretty low on chakra and a bit beat up.”

Asuma nodded. He helped Ino to her feet. “It was a good day. I think everyone got a lot out of having new training partners.”

\---

That night, Ino lay awake for a long time feeling hot breath on her face. When she did finally fall into an exhausted sleep, she didn’t dream of the Fox. She dreamed of Naruto, a knife in his back, and horrible, grief stricken howl that tore the village apart.

\---

Kurama tried to talk to Naruto after dinner, but Naruto pushed the Fox to the far corners of his mind and refused to listen. 

Naruto’s dream started with a ring of angry faces spitting hateful words. It changed abruptly. The faces melted away, replaced by barking dogs and wagging tails.

Kurama waited until he felt Naruto’s heart rate level out and the last of the adrenaline from his nightmare faded. Then, the Fox returned to his den, wondering when he’d become so soft for the kit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay. This and the next chapter were originally one and it ended up way way longer than I planned, so I ended up splittling them but I didn't want to put this one up without the second one ready to go.


	8. Chapter 8

Kakashi promised his team the weekend off. He claimed it was for all the work they put in against Asuma’s team. Bodies needed time to rest and replenish chakra.

It was only half of the truth. They’d come home to a message on the door. Tenzou wanted to borrow Kakashi for a short mission.

They left in the early hours of Saturday morning.

When the boys woke up, there was a note on the counter (stay out of trouble and if things go sideways call Gai) and money for groceries.

The boys went to the market early. Most of the crowd was made up of shinobi. Tried looking chuunin fresh off a mission with arms full of groceries, harried looking jounin stalking up on non-perishables, and the newest class of genin excited about their first unsupervised mission.

The boys felt at home here. 

Naruto smiled at a little girl with her red hair done up in pigtails. The forehead protector she was wearing glinted new and shiny in the morning light. She smiled back and nudged the boy with spiky brown hair next to her. 

The boy glanced around, spotted Naruto and grinned. “HEY YOU!” he yelled.

Naruto and Sasuke stopped walking. Naruto pointed at himself and raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” the kid said. He towed the girl and another boy towards Sasuke and Naruto. “You’re a genin right?”

“Yes,” Naruto said, confused about where this was going.

The kid grinned. “Great, then you can help us.” He shoved a piece of paper at Naruto. “We’re on a top secret mission to secure these ingredients. The mission is critical and time sensitive and we can’t find any peach blossoms for sale in the market. Do you have any intel?”

Naruto scanned the list of ingredients and couldn’t help but grin. Shopping for the elderly memes of the village was a standard D-rank job and there was only one person who always needed tuna (canned in water NOT oil), almond milk (sugar free with vanilla flavor), and fresh peach blossoms. 

“Oh man, you guys got the hard one,” Narutop snickered. “Mrs. Matsuda is super picky.”

The boy’s face fell when he realized his bluff had failed spectacularly. He snatched the list back from Naruto. “Don’t laugh at me. Don’t you know who I am?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and hid his own smirk behind a hand. 

“No idea,” Naruto shrugged.

The boy puffed out his chest and stood as tall as his 51 inches would allow. “I’m Sarutobi Konohamaru and I’m going to be the next hokage!”

Naruto snorted. “Sure little buddy.”

Konohamaru narrowed his eyes and glared up at the blond. 

Naruto grinned, “But you’ll have to beat me first.” 

“Pfff,” Konohamaru folded his arms and did his best to sneer. “Like I’d acknowledge you as a rival. I bet you totally failed this mission as a genin.”

“You’re stuck on the peach blossoms, right?” Naruto asked.

Konohamaru just glared.

Naruto pulled a kunai out of his pouch and threw it up. “You might want to work on your observation skills.”

A small branch dropped out of the tree and bounced off of Konohamaru’s hair. 

“HEY! Watch what you’re doing!” Konohamaru yelled.

Naruto just shook his head and turned back to Sasuke. “So what are you thinking for dinner? The trout back at Mr. Ishoa’s stall looked really fresh.”

“Don’t ignore me,” Konohamaru whined.

“I bet they’ve got some asparagus in Ms. Tatsuma’s,” Sasuke added, playing along. “We could put them both on the grill.”

The 2 older genin started to walk away.

Konohamaru growled and started to follow them, but the girl with the pigtails grabbed his arm. 

“Let me go, Moegi,” the boy muttered.

“Look,” Moegi insisted. “It’s not worth picking a fight when they helped us.” She held out the branch Naruto had cut down, so Konohamru could see the pale orange buds about to burst open into peach blossoms.

Konohamaru sighed. “Okay, that guy’s good. Arrogant, skilled, and his trash talk is flawless.”

Moegi shared a look with the other boy, a honey haired kid with round glasses. That wasn’t quite how they’d describe the bond shinobi. Konohamaru 2.0 would be more accurate.

Konohamaru tore his eyes away from where Naruto’s orange jacket had disappeared into the crowd and grinned at his teammates. “You know what this means, right?”

Moegi and Udon both shook their heads.

“We’ve got our first real rivals!”

Udon sighed.

Moegi thought for a minute, then shrugged and grinned back at Konohamaru. “Well, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

The 3 set off to deliver Mrs. Matsuda’s groceries. 

“We’ve got to figure out that guy’s name, too,” Konohamaru added.

His teammates just laughed.

\---

When they were out of sight of the kids, Sasuke nudged Naruto. “You have a mini-me.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Okay, I might be a loud mouth, but I’m not anywhere as pretentious as that kid.” He threw his hands up in the air and mimicked Konohamaru, “This mission is critical and time sensitive, so give us your intel.”

Sasuke snorted. “I’m pretty sure I remember you telling the cabbage man that you needed a head of purple cabbage and it was literally a matter of life or death.”

Naruto winced. “Well, Mr. Kohaku is pretty skinny and a really picky eater. It kind of was life or death.”

Sasuke laughed. 

Naruto punched him lightly in the shoulder. “You’re just salty, because I finished my part of the shopping list way before you that day.”

Sasuke grinned and pulled their grocery list out of his pocket. “How about a rematch then?”

“You are on!”

Sasuke tore the list in half, shoved the bottom half at Naruto, and took off running through the crowd.

Naruto opened his mouth to protest that wasn’t a fair start, but Sasuke was already gone. 

Naruto scanned his list and took off in the opposite direction.

\---

_ Salt, garlic, butter, still need to find some yogurt and fresh fruit… _

Naruto was so busy planning the quickest route to all of the best groceries that he rounded the corner without looking and crashed into someone.

Both Naruto and the other person ended up on the ground.

“Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention,” the both said at the same time.

They paused, blinked, and realized who they’d run into.

Ino quickly looked away from Naruto’s face and began scrambling to collect the bunch of lavender she’d dropped.

Naruto moved to help, his groceries momentarily forgotten.

Naruto held a clump of lavender stems out to Ino. “I’m sorry again about yesterday,” he said softly.

Ino took the flowers and picked up the little container of butter at her feet and passed it to Naruto without making eye contact. “Don’t mention it. I’m not going to and you shouldn’t either. It’ll just make people nervous and cause trouble.”

Naruto’s face fell. “I’m not a threat. I won’t hurt anyone.” He sounded so small and sad that Ino couldn’t help but look.

There was so much sadness and regret in his blue eyes that Ino could practically feel his heart breaking. 

“I know. That’s why I kept my mouth shut,” Ino said gently. She picked up a big clove of garlic and pressed it into Ino’s other hand. “You didn’t ask for this and you’re handling it way way better than most people would. I trust you.”

Naruto’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. His shoulders sagged in relief. 

Ino smiled at that.

Naruto tucked the butter and garlic back in his bag and reached for the rest of his skilled groceries. “Not that I’m one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but umm… can I ask why?”

Ino caught Naruto’s gaze and held it. “You know why the mind switch jutsu only lasts for a few minutes?”

Naruto shook his head.

“Any longer sharing a mind and both parties go crazy. You’ve been sharing your head with a demon forever and while a bit of an idiot, you’re definitely still sane.”

“Thanks?”

Ino sighed. “What I’m trying to say is I don’t have to trust you. I saw first hand that your will is strong enough to keep the Fox in check.”

“Thanks,” Naruto said again. He smiled then and meant it.

The seconds stretched. Both had all their things in hand, but neither moved to leave.

Ino shifted and swallowed hard. “I was thinking maybe I could teach you how to fight a mind transfer jutsu,” she said quickly.

Naruto blinked in surprise.

Ino plowed on. “I’ve been thinking about what the Fox said and it’s right. If someone could get into your head and control you, they could unleash the Fox.” She didn’t point out that the easiest way to do that would be to, as the Fox put it, slip a knife in his back and kill off his mind.

“Isn’t that your clan’s secret jutsu?” Naruto asked.

Ino shrugged. “I decided this is more important than following the rules. If you’ll let me teach you.”

Naruto nodded quickly. He knew what that meant, what Ino was risking by sharing her clan’s secrets with an outsider. It was a crime that many clans would never forgive.

Ino looked relieved. “You’ll probably pick it up fast. The key is being able to identify thoughts that aren’t yours and separate yourself from them. From what I saw, that’s got to be pretty instinctive for you at this point. You and the Fox are nothing alike.”

“Thank you,” Naruto mumbled.

“Meet me tonight, midnight, at Training Ground 12.”

Then Ino was gone and Naruto was left to finish his grocery shopping.

Needless to say, Sasuke was waiting at home. He had his groceries already put away and water boiling to make cup of noodles for lunch.

“I won,” Sasuke grinned.

Naruto rolled his eyes. “I guess we’re even now. We’ll have to have a tiebreaker next time.”

Sasuke just laughed.

The 2 spent the rest of the day lazing about the house and watching TV.

\---

Naruto slipped out of the house at 11:30. He danced between the squeaky floorboards and skipped the step that always creaks and was at the front door in under a minute. Experience had taught him that it was quieter than opening his window.

Training Ground 12 was on the far edge of the village. It was smaller than the others, nestled right at the base of the Hokage Rock. A river cut the training ground in half and Naruto found Ino sitting by the river bank where the river came pouring over the high cliff.

The waterfall was loud. Ino picked this spot, because no one would be able to overhear them.

When Ino saw Naruto step out of the trees she waved.

Naruto dropped into the grass across from Ino. “So how does this work?”

“First, you need to tell the Fox to stay out of the way. You need to practice, not him.”

Naruto nodded. Before he could say anything, he heard Kurama’s voice ripple through his mind.

_ I won’t interfere. _

Naruto nodded. “Kurama won’t get in the way.”

Ino licked her lips and shifted. She knew what to say next. She’d been thinking about this all day, how to teach someone with no background in mind jutsus. The words just didn’t want to come. She could already hear her father’s disappointment.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone,” Naruto said.

Ino nodded, took a deep breath, and started. “So, you don’t really need to know the details of how mind transfers work. At their most basic level, we use chakra to separate our consciousness from our physical form and project it. The important thing for you is that once a foreign consciousness connects with you, it comes down to a battle of wills.”

Naruto nodded.

Ino picked at the grass by her legs. “It’s a battle that most people don’t get a chance to fight. Most people don’t realize someone else is in their head until we’ve already got what we want-- control of your body, access to your memories, or total domination.”

Naruto swallowed. The idea of losing control like that sent shivers down his spine. He’d felt that once. A vague wave of regret, but also righteousness drifted to Naruto from Kurama. The Fox would not apologize for doing what it needed to to protect them.

“I think, you won’t have any issue winning a battle of wills, so the trick is going to be getting you to recognize the very first indicators of a possession jutsu.”

“Makes sense,” Naruto agreed.

Ino raised her hand. “When I get in someone’s head, there’s 3 steps that I go through to take control. First is mimicking. When I get in someone’s head, I empty my mind and let their thoughts flow through me. Then I make them do whatever they wanted to do. The point of this is to buy myself time to settle into the target’s mind, to figure out what their thought pattern is and get my bearings. This is where the possession is hardest to detect, but easiest to stop. My mind is open as it tries to get a foothold inside of yours. You can overwhelm me with random thoughts or a chakra burst. If your will is strong enough, you could even read my thoughts instead.”

Naruto’s eyes went wide. “So this is the best time to stop you?”

Ino nodded. “Yup. You’ll notice a bit of a lag in your body’s moments and, if you’re really paying attention, in your thoughts and emotions too, like when you’re really tired. The better your opponent, the harder it will be to detect them at this point.”

Naruto nodded. He felt like he should be taking notes.

Ino raised a second finger. “The second step is what I call testing. I start with small commands, like twitching a finger or directing the target towards a specific memory. The point is to acclimate to the target’s neural pathways, how they turn thoughts into actions. You’ll notice your body doing little movements or your mind wandering. This is the middle ground, you’re more likely to notice me now, but I’m more firmly rooted. You’ll need both will power to take back control of your neural pathways and chakra to push me out of your head.”

Ino raised a third finger. “The third step is setting the hook. Like when you’re fishing, once the fish has nibbled for a while and it feels safe, it swallows the hook, and then you've got to give a good tug to set the hook before you can reel the fish in.” 

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Ino wasn’t someone he’d expected a fishing metaphor from.

Ino rolled her eyes. “What? Girls can’t fish?”

Naruto quickly shook his head. “Just didn’t think you’d like fishing and camping and all that.”

“My dad took me fishing when I was first learning the mind transfer. It’s a good physical metaphor for an entirely non-physical process.” Ino said it a bit defensively. “Anyway, as I was saying, to set the hook, I give a big push of chakra and stop everything I can-- movements, thoughts, even breathing. For just a second, I exert total control. I let the target fight me, but they never fight for long. It’s hard when your mind and body both shut down. Fighting has to be instinctive and it has to be stronger than the instinct to give up so I let you breathe. Most people can’t do that, so once they stop fighting, I give control of bodily functions back to them and do whatever I want with their body and mind.”

“What’s it take to break free at this point?” Naruto asked.

Ino shook her head. “I’ve never managed it, but my Dad says you have to retreat to your core and draw strength from the things that no one can touch, the things that fundamentally make you you. Your core is like a fortress in your mind and you can launch attacks from it. You can give me false memories, block my commands to your muscles using chakra, and just generally make possessing you useless. You can’t force someone out, but you can make them give up or run out of time.”

“Alright,” Naruto grinned. “I’m ready to try it.”

The first time, Ino made it all the way to setting the hook before Naruto realized she was in his head. It was disorienting. It felt like when Kurama seized control, that same paralyzing sensation, but worse. There were no emotions to seize onto, no sense of connection to the force that possessed him. 

Ino tried to make Naruto wave. His hand started moving and Naruto felt a faint glimmer of pride from Ino.

Naruto latched onto that emotion like it was a thread. He followed it to its source and fought his own body.

It took an extra 3 heartbeats, but Ino made Naruto wave and his mind slipped into submission. 

Ino released the jutsu. “Not bad. You actually managed to fight really hard, but you didn’t do it from a position of strength. You need to find your core.”

The process repeated.

Naruto learned that as soon as he felt Ino set the hook he needed to fall back. His core wasn’t hard to find. He’d been there before. Everytime he struggled with Kurama, everytime he looked in the mirror afraid to see a monster looking back, everytime the world pushed him to be what he wasn’t.

The jutsu ran out without Naruto’s body moving an inch.

Ino made him do it again and again and again, until he could stop her without any weakness and slowly, he began to recognize the mind possession as stage 2 and then at stage 1.

The moon was halfway back to the horizon when Ino lowered her hands and didn’t demand they go again. She smiled at Naruto. The moonlight painted them both like pale spectors.

“You know I’m kind of jealous. I still struggle with this,” Ino admitted. 

Naruto tipped his head to the side in a silent question.

Ino smiled slightly. They’d now spent enough time sharing a head that she knew exactly what he was asking. “Dad says a strong sense of self is the key and that you have to both know and accept yourself completely. That’s hard for me. Like I know I’m a good kunoichi. I know my own strengths and weaknesses. The accepting is the hard part. It’s just hard not to pick at little flaws.”

Naruto frowned for a minute, thinking about the best way to answer. “Flaws aren’t a bad thing. They’re what makes us human and remind us that we can always be better. Life would be pretty boring if we were perfect.”

Ino sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. “Boys have it so much easier you know.” She stared past Naruto.

Naruto could all but see the gloomy thoughts swirling around Ino’s head like her own personal rain cloud. He nudged her with his foot until she looked at him. “Whatever flaws you’re worried about, they’re all in your head.”

“That’s what worries me,” Ino chucked, deflecting.

Naruto just stared at her until she sighed and kept talking.

“I know I’m pretty. I work hard at it. It’s a vital skill for kunoichi, but that doesn’t mean I’m not vain,” once she got started, the words just kept coming. “I don’t think I’m vain, but people say things and it makes you wonder ya know? And I’m bossy. I know I am. Shika and Choji put up with me because they’re kind of lazy, but even they call me out on it sometimes.” Ino buried her face in her hands. “I have no idea why I’m telling you all of this,” she mumbled. Maybe it was lack of sleep and chakra depletion, maybe it was the steady rumble of the waterfall and the gentle smile on Naruto’s face, maybe it was that these words had been bubbling Ino’s chest for weeks and now it was so easy for them to just spill out.

“I get it,” Naruto said. He flopped backwards on the grass and stared up at the stars. “People say cruel things when they’re jealous or scared or they want to control you. It makes you second guess yourself. If I didn’t have my friends to help keep my head on straight, I would probably have given up on being anything other than the monster people call me.”

“So how do you do it? Just ignore everyone?”

“Nah. I listen and then I decide if it’s true or not and if I can or should do something about it.” Naruto pulled up a handful of grass and slowly let it wall down on his chest. “People think I’m dumb just because math doesn’t come easy to me. I know I’m not dumb, the people who matter to me know I’m not dumb, and if the rest of the world wants to use that as an excuse to underestimate me, that’s a them problem.” Naruto flashed a sharp toothed grin at the sky. “I’m going to show everyone someday.”

“Do you think I’m vain and bossy?”

Naruto snickered. “I think everybody’s a bit vane and girls take forever to get ready in the morning.”

Ino rolled her eyes. “Seriously, what do you think of me?”

“I think you like to be in control and that it comes from a place of love and concern.”

Ino frowned. “What do you mean?”

Naruto shrugged. “Kakashi does the same thing. He bosses a lot during training and can be a total hardass, but it’s because he wants to make sure we’re in control when he can’t be and we inevitably find trouble. He says it’s pretty common in older or more experienced ninja. When everyone you care about is a shinobi and you have no real control over whether or not they come back from a mission, it gives you a bit of a complex.”

Ino closed her eyes. “I guess that makes sense.” The little voice in the back of her head was nodding in agreement.  _ If you’re perfect and you make sure everyone else is perfect, everyone comes home safe _ .

“So I don’t bother you?” Ino asked.

“Nah. I’d want you on my team, same as Shika and Choji do. Even if they complain about you being bossy, they trust you to get them home safe.” Naruto ran a hand through his hair and smiled. “Sasuke’s way bossier than you are and Sakura’s about the same. They’ve never let me down and I don’t think they ever will. If it really bothers you, maybe ask your sensei for some leadership tips. I know Kakashi has all these tricks for talking to people and giving orders so that people want to follow them. I think it’s a jounin thing.”

Ino nodded and smiled at Naruto. “You know you’re really good at pep talks. You’ll be an awesome sensei someday.”

Naruto laughed. “I’m pretty sure Team Naruto is a thing of nightmares for the Hokage and the council of elders. We’d get into so much trouble.”

Then Ino was laughing too. “The world needs to be shaken up every now and then.”

The 2 lapsed into easy silence. 

“I’ve got training in the morning,” Ino said after several minutes. “I should probably go home.”

Naruto sat up. “Thanks again for all of this.”

Ino nodded. “No problem. We should probably meet up again tomorrow night, just to make sure it all stuck.”

\---

Naruto dragged himself home. He was looking forward to a warm bed and a lazy Sunday. He didn’t see Sasuke watching from his bedroom window.

\---

When Naruto slipped out the next night, he didn’t notice the shadow that followed him.

Both blonds about had a heart attack when Sasuke stepped out of the forest. “What are you guys doing?”

Naruto looked at Ino and Ino hesitated. “I’m teaching Naruto how to block mind switch jutsus,” Ino said at last. She was too tired to come up with a good lie.

Sasuke’s eyes widened. “Can you teach me too?” He had hated that feeling of helplessness, it felt the way he imagined being trapped in a high level genjutsu would.

Ino hesitated. “Yes, but you have to tell me a secret. That way we’ve both got a reason to keep our mouth shut about this.”

Naruto wanted to ask why she didn’t make him tell her some secret, then he realized she already had his secret-- the open gates in his mind. They already had a mutually assured destruction.

Sasuke nodded. He walked over to Ino, knelt down, and whispered in her ear.

Ino nodded. “Alright. I was just about to review the basics with Naruto, so you can go sit by him and I’ll go over it for both of you.”

\---

In the early hours of the morning, Sasuke and Naruto walked home leaning on each other. Naruto kept poking Sasuke and asking what his secret was.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and mumbled something about secrets being secret because they’re secret.

Both boys slept like logs well into the afternoon when Kakashi came home and teased them for being lazy.

\---

3 days later, after dinner, there was a knock at the Hatakes’ door. 

Kakashi opened it to see Ino holding a big bunch of sunflowers. 

“Is Naruto home?” Ino asked with an easy smile. “I was hoping to talk to to him for a minute.”

Kakashi blinked in surprise. “Uh, yeah. I’ll grab him.” Kakashi disappeared back into the house.

“Naruto, Ino’s at the door and she wants to talk to you.”

Naruto hopped off the couch and headed for the front door, but Kakashi caught his arm. “Please tell me you didn’t do something to piss off the Yamanaka clan.”

Naruto waved him off. “Nah. Had a totally boring weekend. Spent all day just being lazy around the house.”

Kakashi nodded, but remained skeptical. He let go of Naruto and the blond ran for the door.

Naruto pulled the door closed behind him. “Everything okay?” he asked in a whisper.

Ino grinned. “Better than okay. I had a breakthrough in my training. I thought about what you said and it helped.”

Naruto relaxed. “Oh! I’m glad… What did I say?”

Ino smacked Naruto with the flowers. “God, you’re an idiot.”

Naruto just laughed. There was a petal in his hair and he was grinning at her.

Ino sighed and looked down at the now slightly rumpled flowers. “I know I’m not perfect and I’m always going to be striving for perfection, but it’s okay to acknowledge my flaws and anxieties. They’re a part of me and as long as I acknowledge them, I can account for them. Burying and ignoring them just turns them into a weakness for my enemies to exploit, like trying to compost weeds.” 

Ino looked back up and met Naruto’s grin with one of her own. This one was decidedly evil. “If people want to look at me and see a bossy pretty girl, that’s a them problem, because this kunoichi will kick their ass.”

“Hell yeah!” Naruto cheered. 

A hint of pint touched Ino’s cheeks. “Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for the pep talk.” She shoved the flowers at Naruto and bolted.

Naruto smiled at Ino’s retreating back. “Anytime!” he yelled after her.

Ino slowed to a walk and waved without looking back.

When Naruto opened the front door, Sasuke and Kakashi were both standing just inside.

Naruto stepped around them to grab a vase from the kitchen.

Sasuke cleared his throat. “I think she likes you.”

Behind Sasuke, Kakashi nodded in agreement.

Naruto just laughed. “Of course she likes me. I’m awesome.”

Naruto put the flowers in a vase and set them on the kitchen table. The other 2 were still staring at him expectantly. “Stop looking at me like that. You two are weirdos. Sunflowers symbolize friendship,” Naruto insisted.

Kakashi and Sasuke didn’t look totally convinced.

“Oh come on,” Naruto sighed. “Seriously, Sakura’s been over the whole flower code thing like a million times.”

Sasuke shrugged and dropped it.

Kakashi just rolled his eyes. The kids were almost 13 and it looked like the teenage years were starting early.


	9. Chapter 9

Kakashi’s muscles were burning from exertion. His mask was soaked with sweat despite the breeze. His only consolation was that Gai didn’t seem to be in all that different of shape.

A harder gust of wind tugged at Kakashi’s flak jacket and he pressed his body closer to the cliff face. His fingers were mostly numb at this point, three quarters of the way up the cliff. Kakashi figured he was about where the sixth hokage’s nose would be in another 100 years. 

Gai was only a few feet higher and Kakashi was closing the gap.

Gai had taken off up the cliff like he was part mountain goat, but slowed down after the halfway point. Kakashi had been gaining ever since.

“You okay?” Kakashi called.  _ Not like I can do much about it if you aren’t. _

Gai twisted and grinned down at Kakashi. “Just thinking. Sorry.” He scrambled up 3 more feet and turned to grin again.

Kakashi sighed and kept climbing.

The top of the cliff came just in time. Kakashi’d stopped thinking about 50 feet from the top and lost himself in the mindless exertion. His body was at its physical limit.

Kakashi flopped down in the dirt and stared up at the sky.

Gai only beat Kakashi by a few seconds, but that was all it took. He was now in the lead, not that Kakashi was actually going to admit he kept score as religiously as Gai did.

_ Gai’s oddly quiet.  _ Kakashi rolled onto his side and frowned.

Gai was sitting nearby. He was breathing heavy. There was a smear of dirt and blood across his forehead. He’d wiped his sweat with a bleeding hand. 

That didn’t worry Kakashi. His own fingers were cracked and weeping in a couple places. 

No, what worried Kakashi was the vacant expression on Gai’s face as he stared out at the horizon without seeing it.

“What are you thinking?” Kakashi’s voice was soft.

Gai blinked twice and sighed heavily. “We aren’t as young as we once were.”

Kakashi snorted. “What gave it away? The fact that the climb almost killed us both?” 

Gai’s lips twitched into a smile for a moment. “Nah, that just means it's been too long since we climbed.”

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully and waited. Gai would say more when he was ready.

“Have you heard the rumors about the chuunin exam?” Gai’s voice was deceptively emotionless.

Kakashi flopped back on dirt. “I hadn’t, but I’m not surprised there’s rumor floating. We’re more than due for one. We’ve got a good crop of gennin who are ready to move up and have been for more than a year. We’ve also had several chuunin promoted and even more retire to start families or take permanent positions around the village.”

Gai nodded. “My team’s going to enter.”

“They’re pretty young.”

“Their mission record speaks for itself and they want to participate. Rumor has it some of the rookie teams are going to enter, too.”

_ Oh _ , the pieces clicked together in Kakashi’s head.

“You going to enter Team 7?”

  
“Not if I can help it,” Kakashi muttered mostly to himself. Louder he said, “I’d like to give them at least another year of training and working together before throwing them into that sort of competition, but with their mission record and their skill set I don’t know if I’ll be able to even justify delaying them a year.”  _ Especially if other rookie teams are entering. _

“We’re getting older and so are they. You can’t shield them forever.”

Kakashi kicked Gai gently in the shoulder. “What happened to eternal youth?”

Gai shook his head. “You know it’s not always easy being an optimist. I do worry sometimes.”

Kakashi sat up with a groan and scooted closer to Gai. “Well I’m an incurable pragmatist. What are you worried about? Maybe I can fix it.”

Gai bumped Kakashi’s shoulder with his. “Chuunin exams are brutal under normal circumstances. I don’t know why,but I’ve got a bad feeling about this one.”

“Tensions are getting higher. I might not be in the anbu anymore, but I’ve still got connections. Mist and Waterfall have been testing their border. Sand’s increased patrols and Stone didn’t renew trade treaties with several of the smaller nations. It’s like everyone is itching for a fight.” 

“So instead we give them a chuunin exam? Let them get their bloodlust out using kids?”

Kakashi shrugged. “It was worse when we went through it. There were active skirmishes bordering on all out war. Our kids will survive.” There was no hesitation or uncertainty in Kakashi’s answer.

Gai relaxed slightly. “This is an odd role reversal. What makes you so certain?” 

“We trained them. When they’re tested, we’ll be watching.”

“You’d interfere?”

“To save them from getting their asses handed to them? Not a chance. You learn from losing as much as from winning. To keep them from getting killed? The hokage himself couldn’t stop me. The exams might be a war game, but that’s all they are. War games aren’t meant to have casualties.”

Gai relaxed the rest of the way. “If you’re that certain, then I have nothing to worry about. When a pessimist sounds like an optimist, it’s a sure bet.”

“Bah. I’m not a pessimist.”

Gai just laughed.

\---

Kakashi regretted agreeing to free climb a mountain. It wasn’t the aching muscles or the general exhaustion-- those were far from unusual in his life. The issue was he looked like the mountain was the one who won the challenge and he was supposed to look presentable for dinner at the Haruno house. 

Kakashi’s hands were raw, cracked, and blistered. His arms and legs were covered in scrapes and bruises from hauling himself over rock. 

Kakashi stood shirtless in front of his closet and groaned. If he wanted to hide the bulk of the damage he could wear either a kimono or his full stealth gear, a left over from his anbu days. His wardrobe of civilian clothes was limited and, other than the kimono, included no long sleeves.

“I thought we were pretending to be normal people,” Naruto poked his head in Kakashi’s open door.

Kakashi groaned. 

“How’s the other guy?” Sasuke asked.

“The other guy’s a mountain. I’m pretty sure he’s fine,” Kakashi grumbled.

Sasuke snorted.

Kakashi reached out and ran his fingers over the long sleeve of his stealth gear. It was slick to the touch, woven from cut resistant fibers, and mottled different shades of gray. “What’s worse, showing up in shinobi gear or…” Kakashi trailed off and gestured to his arms. He turned to look at his boys and had to swallow a burst of laughter.

Both boys were wearing black slacks and button down shirts that Kakashi was certain they hadn’t owned that morning. The collars even looked starched. 

Sasuke’s hair was very carefully combed down flat and parted so it didn’t hang in front of his eyes. Kakashi suspected there might be some pins in it to keep the unruly parts from spiking up.

Naruto had his shirt tucked in and was standing so straight, he might as well have been starched along with his collar.

“Sakura took us shopping while you were getting beat up by a rock,” Sasuke explained.

“I am so going to be underdressed,” Kakashi mumbled.

“I think you should wear the colorful one,” Naruto chimed in.

Sasuke groaned.

Kakashi shrugged. At least it was a button down.

\---

Mebuki opened her front door and her eyes widened a fraction of an inch, but her smile didn’t waver.

Sasuke had a picnic basket and Naruto was holding a bouquet of flowers. Mebuki was hit by an overwhelming urge to pinch cheeks, ruffle hair, and call them little gentlemen.

Naruto let her pinch his cheek when he handed her the flowers and gave her a lopsided grin. 

Sasuke dodged the hair ruffle and put the picnic basket between them as a barrier. “We brought fresh bread.”

Mebuki didn’t get a chance to compliment the boys. The words were lost in a burst of laughter when she noticed Kakashi sulking behind his kids.

The jounin was wearing a brilliantly colored, floral shirt. A dozen different tropical flowers were painstakingly embroidered into the yellow cotton, taking up most of the shirt.

It was hard to tell with his mask, but Mebuki swore she could see Kakashi blushing. He’d swapped out his forehead protector for a black, cloth eyepatch. Without the forehead protector to contain it, his hair flopped a bit in front of his face. His arms and hands were carefully bandaged, but bruises peeked from the edges of the cloth strips.

The look gave the impression of a pirate fresh out of the hospital or a shinobi 100% out of his depth.

“I swear I do actually know how to dress myself,” Kakashi interrupted.

Mebuki doubled over with laughter. 

“I picked his shirt,” Naruto chimed in.

Mebuki wiped her tears away and patted Naruto on the head. “Kizashi will love it.”

Kakashi sighed and followed his kids inside. 

Mebuki directed Sasuke to put the bread in the kitchen.

Sakura was in the dining room setting the table. Kakashi nudged Naruto to go help.

Suddenly alone with Mebuki, Kakashi shifted uncomfortably.  _ Maybe I could go help set the table too? _

“Are you okay?” Mebuki asked. Kakashi was looking everywhere, but at her. His eyes lingered on the windows and doors, like he was deciding the quickest way to make an exit. Maybe he was. It wouldn’t surprise Mebuki if that was the sort of thing shinobi were trained to do. 

Kakashi blinked twice. Then glanced down at his arms. “Oh this. I’m fine. I went rock climbing with a friend and I’m pretty sure the mountain’s taller than it was when we were younger.” Kakashi smiled. 

Mebuki could barely make out the way Kakashi’s mask twitched, but she was learning to watch for the way his visible eye crinkled at the edge when he smiled. “You can’t talk like that. You’re not nearly old enough,” she teased.

“I feel plenty old.”

“Come on, what are you 30? 32?” Mebuki was certain she was over shooting even though that would make Kakashi a genin younger than Sakura. Before tonight, she would have said at least 35, but, out of his uniform, Kakashi looked younger and oddly uncertain-- almost breakable.

Kakashi shifted again. His eyes flickered to where Sakura was showing both of the boys how to properly set a table. 

Naruto’s bouquet was in a vase on the table. By some luck, the orange lilies complimented the pale yellow tablecloth. 

Kakashi didn’t own a tablecloth. He’d never actually set a table. His version of a vase was an expensive sake bottle with the label peeled off or a big jar. 

Sakura looked at ease in a white sundress with a bow in her hair. 

Naruto kept tugging on his collar and Sasuke couldn’t keep his hands out of his hair, brushing the too long strands out of his face and trying to smooth down the wild tufts with sweaty palms.

Kakashi could see his reflection in the window across the living room. He looked like a joke. He’d never been so acutely aware of the fact he was raised entirely in the shinobi life.

“You don’t have to say,” Mebuki added after a long beat.

“27.” Kakashi ducked his head and stepped past Mebuki to see what the kids were doing. 

Mebuki’s lips made a little “O” and no sound came out. She closed her mouth and did the math. Her lips made a hard, thin line. She knew Kakashi had to have grown up during the last war, but...  _ He’s been a parent since he was 14, maybe 15, and he was already an anbu captain at that point. Did he ever get to be a kid?  _

Mebuki ducked into the kitchen to check on dinner.

Kakashi watched over the boys’ heads as Sakura showed them how to fold napkins into fancy shapes.

“Dinner’s ready!” Kizashi announced. He came out of the kitchen with a massive roast on a serving tray and absolutely beamed when he saw Kakashi. 

“HEY! That’s from Waterfall!”

“It was a gift.” Kakashi did his best not to wince.

“I’ve got a blue one I bought on my last trip that direction,” Kizashi beamed. “Mebuki won’t let me wear it anywhere.”

“I won’t let you wear it to important business meetings. There’s a difference,” Mebuki corrected.

“I’m going to put it on,” Kizashi declared and jogged for the stairs.

Mebuki shook her head, but smiled fondly after the man.

Kizashi’s shirt was even more garish than Kakashi’s. The colors were all too bright and most of them clashed, but he absolutely preened while Sakura buried her face in her hands and Naruto oo-ed and aw-ed. 

Over dinner, the kids kept up a steady stream of conversation, talking about friends, missions, and the politics of genin life. 

Kakashi relaxed as the conversation flowed around him. 

Mebuki and Kizashi watched the boys with interest. Mebuki looked mildly impressed and Kakashi considered it a victory. He might be a bit of a disaster, but his boys knew not to talk with their mouths full, pass the butter, and say please and thank you. Sasuke, having been raised in a head house, knew which fork to use for his salad. Naruto, having been raised by Kakashi and having lived with Sasuke for several years, knew to copy the Uchiha when in doubt about such subtleties. 

Halfway through the meal, Kizashi turned to Kakashi. “When’s the last time you were in Waterfall?”

“It’s been a few years. You go that way often?”

Kizashi nodded. “Used to. It was one of my most popular trade routes. Everyone wants their fruit and teas. They don’t have much of a meat industry, so animal products always sell well there.”

“I take it something’s changed recently?”

“Hokage issued a travel advisory. We aren’t allowed into Waterfall without a shinobi escort. According to the old timers, the last time we had a travel advisory like that was in the months leading up to the 3rd war.” Kizashi’s voice was low. The kids were regaling Mebuki with all the details of their training exercise with Asuma’s team. 

Kakashi sighed. “I wouldn’t panic yet. Tensions have been running high, but nothing like it was before the last War. There’s been droughts all over that side of the continent. We’re seeing way more bandits and rouge shinobi from the small villages. The roads in and out of Waterfall are a known ambush point. The brush is thick and the trade caravans are well stocked going both directions.”

A relieved look flashed across Kizashi’s face, but it faded quickly. “I’m sorry. I forget you were there.” The man was watching Kakashi carefully, trying to figure out how far he’d misstepped in bringing up the War.

Kakashi waved off the apology. “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”

Kizashi nodded. He looked like he wanted to ask something, but wasn’t sure whether to press his luck. There was a crease between his eyebrows and he pursed his lips slightly. Sakura made the same expression.

“Go ahead and ask. At this point, I’ve heard all the questions, so you won’t offend me.”

Kizashi narrowed his eyes. “That obvious?”

“Sakura makes the same face when she’s trying to decide whether to ask me something or wait for Naruto to ask.”

Kizashi snorted. “Is that an option for me?”

Kakashi glanced across the table. Naruto and Sakura were in the middle of a passionate explanation of the flower code and its various uses. “Probably not unless you’re wondering how the flower code changes in different regions.”

Kizashi took a deep breath. “Are you happy? Do you like being a shinobi?”

That wasn’t where Kakashi thought this was going. “Yeah. I am. I do.” He didn’t elaborate.

Kizashi’s forehead wrinkle deepened.

“Contrary to popular belief, if I’d wanted to retire after the war, I could have,” Kakashi added. Both Minato and later the Third had ordered him to consider it. Neither believed him when he swore he had and still wanted to accept the anbu mask from Danzou. 

Kizashi nodded and waited to see if Kakashi would offer anything else. 

Kakashi didn’t. It was too complicated of a thing to explain over mashed potatoes. Kakashi wasn’t even sure he could put it into words, let alone words that would make sense to a civilian. He’d probably just end up spouting a bunch of cliches that belonged on a shitty recruitment poster and that was the last thing Kakashi wanted to sound like.

Kizashi nodded again and changed the topic. “Any recommendations on shinobi to hire? The trade company can’t really afford to just cut off our route to Waterfall.”

Kakashi grinned under his mask and leaned forward. “Oh, I know a couple chuunin who’d jump at it.” Kotetsu and Izumo would love the excuse to take a tropical mission after spending the last 3 months as Konoha’s representatives to the Land of Snow.

“Chuunin? I figured we’d get the most bang for our buck with a genin team.”

“That’s not a bad way to go. Any of the teams that have been out of the academy for a year will be qualified, but they’ll slow you down some. The short legs make a bigger difference than you expect.”

“We’re not short!” Naruto yelled across the table and immediately launched back into whatever he’d been saying to Mebuki. 

Kizashi and Kakashi both raised an eyebrow. 

From there, the conversation evolved to a discussion of the world economy. Kizashi was well versed and well traveled with an interesting perspective on the give and take of economics. 

“You heard anything about the Hidden Sound Village?” Kizashi asked. “We sent a trade request almost 2 months ago and haven’t received a response. Even Rain is better about responding.”

“They’re new on the scene. No one’s heard much about them at this point. I’ve been through the area a few times. It’s rugged and undeveloped. The village can’t be big. I doubt they have much to export, maybe some ore or gemstones, there were a few mining operations in the mountains, but all of the farming was subsistence. Few settlements, mostly isolated homesteads.”

Kizashi grunted. “The guild is talking about sending a small caravan to introduce ourselves.”

“I’d hire an escort. Jounin or anbu if you can afford it.”

“They don’t sound like much of a threat. That seems like overkill.”

“The first 2 things a shinobi village has to do if it wants to survive is prove its value to its host country and build its reputation. The borders will be well secured and they’ll probably pick a fight, so that they can say they’re capable of holding their own against Konoha forces,” Kakashi explained. The last time a new village established itself, Cloud tried to steal the byakugan and Konoha almost went to war.

Kizashi groaned. “Lovely. I was thinking about volunteering just to get a change of scenery, but I’ve lived this long by staying out of shinobi shit-- no offense.”

Kakashi snorted. “None taken.”

“That the sort of assignment you’d sign up for?”

Kakshi shook his head. “I hate escort missions. They’re almost always more trouble than they should be on paper. Doubly so if the client is a civilian-- no offense.” 

Kizashi laughed. “Touche. What’s the worst client you’ve ever had?”

Kakashi thought for a minute and then smiled. “It was before the village required payment for missions upfront. My team was hired by a silk merchant from Suna. He wanted an escort from the Fire-Wind border to the Fire-Water border.”

Kizashi nodded. He knew the route. It was one of the less traveled. Cutting through Rain was the fastest way to get from Wind to Water as long as Rain wasn’t too deep in a civil war that week.

“The guy was awful,” Kakashi continued. “He insisted on traveling through the night and by that he meant one of us would have to steer the cart, because he was going to sleep in the back with the silks. It rained the whole way. We had to keep digging his cart out of the mud while he yelled at us not to touch the tarp over the silk, because the oil on our skin would ruin the waterproofing. We ran into bandits like an hour shy of the border. There were 15 of them, way outside the scope of the mission we were hired for, even if they weren’t exactly the hardened criminal type. We suggested he pay them off. It wouldn’t have taken much, but noooooo.” Kakashi rolled his eyes. “So we ended up fighting these guys. We were soaking wet, covered in mud, sleep deprived, and outnumbered 5 to 1. It didn’t take much to scare off the bandits, but while we were doing it the client bolted across the border so we couldn’t follow and he wouldn’t have to pay.”

“What did you do?” Kizashi asked with interest.

“I didn’t do anything. Rin, one of my teammates, pulled his purse out of her bag before we could do anything stupid. She had a feeling he was going to try to get out of paying, so she swiped it the night before while he was sleeping and she was driving the cart. If he hadn’t made a run for it, she would have tucked it back in the cart before we got to the border. As it was, he ended up paying 3 times as much for our services as he was quoted. Never requested an escort from Konoha again. Not sure why.” Kakashi smiled at the memory. He could hear Obito yelling after the fading cart and see Rin’s sly smile as she pulled out the heavy purse. 

Kizashi just chuckled. “How old were you then?”

“6. I’d just made chuunin. It was during the third or fourth attempt at peace talks, so our sensei let me take the others on a quick solo mission. My teammates were 10. We thought we were a bunch of badasses.”

“I’d love to have seen the man’s face when he realized he got had by a bunch of tiny ninjas,” Kizashi snickered.

“Me too,” Kakashi smiled. “You got any good stories?”

“So many. I was 15 the first time my dad trusted me enough to make the trip to Grass by myself. I say trusted, but he didn’t really have much of a choice. He broke his leg and couldn’t handle the trip…” Kizashi launched into the story of how he lost all of his paperwork and only managed to cross the border by convincing the Grass shinobi that he was the son of the Fire Daimyo. “They gave me a full escort. One of them even asked for my autograph.” Kizashi said and wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk that reminded Kakashi of Asuma.

Once the kids noticed Kakashi and Kizashi swapping stories, all other conversation ceased.

When the food was gone, they all moved to the living room. The kids sat on the floor and listened with wide eyes while the adults traded stories of misadventures, faraway places, and the trials of growing up.

When the topic slowly shifted back to politics and the kids’ attention started wandering, Mebuki turned to Sakura. “Why don’t you show the boys the training course you set up in the backyard?”

Sakura jumped up excitedly. “I almost forgot.” She grabbed Sasuke’s hand and all but dragged the Uchiha towards the backdoor.

Sasuke flashed Kakashi a wide eyed and slightly concerned look. 

Kakashi just waved.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto as he was towed out of the house and the blond laughed and went along.

Kizashi brought out a bottle of red wine and poured 3 tall glasses. It was the sort of dry, fruity stuff Kakashi associated with nice state dinners, wealthy businessmen, and low level dignitaries.

For a minute, they sipped in silence. The Haruno’s were pressed close together on the loveseat, watching Kakashi across the coffee table. 

Kakashi couldn’t help but think how well they fit together, how easily they had moved around each other in the small kitchen, like a good anbu cell. Maybe that’s why Kakashi felt as though he’d suddenly found himself in an interrogation room-- a stylishly decorated interrogation. Personally, Kakashi always thought the nicer the interrogation room, the less interrogation-y it felt, the more effective it was.

“You’ve raised 2 good kids,” Mebuki said. Her eyes, like Kakashi’s, flickered to the backdoor. In the distance, they could hear the kids laughing.

Kakashi nodded, unsure how to respond to a compliment that felt a bit like an explosive tag. He knew Naruto was a people person with a gift for winning over the skeptics, that Sasuke could be charming when he wanted (tonight he’d wanted), and Sakura had been campaigning on her friends’ behalf. Still, “2 good kids” was a drastic reversal from “unstable and dangerous” or “monsters”, all words that the Harunos had used to describe those same boys less than a year ago.

“They’re helpful, polite, and friendly,” Kizashi added. “You can tell they’re happy and loved.”

“Thank you,” Kakashi said carefully. “They are good kids. I don’t know how much I can take credit for, but I’m proud of them.” He raised his glass, but didn’t drink. Kakashi had a policy against mixing politics with alcohol and this felt decidedly like a political situation. It conjured up memories of watching Minato’s back when he met with the heads of state in Cloud and Rain.

The Harunos weren’t exactly wealthy, but they had influence. Kizashi was well respected in the trade union. Mebuki excluded an aura of quiet and control that commanded respect. They’d be good allies and unpleasant enemies.

Mebuki noticed Kakashi stop drinking. Her eyes softened and she smiled slightly. “You won’t hurt our feelings if you aren’t a fan of the wine.”

She was giving Kakashi an out and he knew it. 

Kakashi nodded and set his glass on the coffee table. He looked at Kizashi. The man was trying to hide whatever question he wanted to ask with a mouthful of wine. “I already told you, you won’t offend me. Just ask,” Kakashi said softly.

Mebuki frowned at her husband, wondering what he’d said.

Kizashi winced. “Sorry. I’m just thinking about the kids and what their future’s going to look like.”

Kakashi nodded. Kizashi’s question during dinner made more sense. There were few Shinobi between Kakashi’s age and the council of elders. Most of a generation was lost during the 3rd War and the Ninetails’ attack. It wasn’t like the Harunos had much of a chance to see what this life would do to their daughter, what her future might be outside of an early grave. 

Kakashi reevaluated the atmosphere.  _ Not exactly politics _ , he decided. This was personal.

Kakashi picked up the wine glass and gulped down a mouthful. If they were going to have this conversation, he wanted a drink. The wine wasn’t particularly alcoholic, and Kakashi’d barely had any of it, but the placebo effect was good enough for Kakashi.

“They’re going to grow up nothing like me or any other shinobi in this village,” Kakashi almost growled it. “They won’t go to war.”

Kakashi stared into his wine. In the fading light, it looked like blood. 

“Someone recently told us that you can’t guarantee safe,” Mebuki’s voice was gentle. “He was right.”

Kakashi snorted. “Not the first time I’ve been called a hypocrite.”

“You know it’s not just shinobi who carry the scars of the last war,” Kizashi sighed.

Kakashi’s grip on the glass tightened. He was tired. Gai’s fears and the Harunos were like slivers underneath his skin. It was hard to slip into sensei mode with worry needling the edges of his mind.  _ What if they’re right? What if war is coming? How will you save them? If Minato couldn’t do it... _

Kizashi took Kakashi’s silence as a reason to continue. “Even when I’m not thinking about it, I do things and then later I realize it’s because of the war.”

Kizashi poured himself a second glass of wine. “I wasn’t in the village when my sister left for the frontlines or when they brought her home. I never said goodbye. I never leave the house now without saying it. I know it’s not the same as having fought, but the war still left its mark.”

Mebuki pressed closer to her husband’s side and he looped his arm around her shoulders. “Money was tight. My mother and I kept ourselves afloat working for the cemetery. We were paid for each grave we dug and extra if the funerals didn’t have to wait for us to finish digging. Every morning, I’d go to the main gate and watch the carts of wounded and dead come home. My job was to estimate how many graves we’d need in the next few days. I’d count and pray under my breath that I wouldn’t recognize anyone under the blood and mud.” 

Mebuki shook her head and looked at Kakashi. There was an offer in her eyes. Kizashi’s too, Kakashi noticed. They didn’t want an alliance based on favors, mutual benefit, and political maneuvers. They wanted something real. They’d dropped their guards, trusted him, and were offering him the same chance to set down whatever burden he’d carried out of the war. 

An odd rush of fondness filled Kakashi. To drag these things into the light was no easy feat and they’d done it for him. They were asking for forgiveness and understanding, trying to bridge the gap between them.

Kakashi’s glass trembled in his hand and he brought the other one up to steady it as he made the decision to meet them halfway. They already knew his story. It was in every history book. It had been in the paper more than once. It shouldn’t be hard to just acknowledge it.

The words were harder to get out than Kakashi wanted them to be. He wasn’t sure when he’d decided it mattered to him what the Harunos thought of him, not of his boys or Sakura or the team, but him specifically.

“It happens so fast on the battlefield, but the after seems like it never ends.” Kakashi said at last. His voice was raw, like he’d been screaming. “They teach us not to talk about it. That’s a bunch of bullshit and we all know it, but the whole idea of shinobi as these emotionless weapons is so ingrained in the culture that…” Kakashi trailed off and shook his head.

Kakashi could see Itachi’s haunted face the night before the massacre. There had been so many words trapped in the Uchiha’s chest, their shadows lined his face and the weary sag of his shoulders.

Kakshi could feel Tenzou pressed against his side, sobbing into his shoulder. Only far from the village and under the cover of darkness, had they been able to grieve the lives war stole from them. 

“I carried them home,” Kakashi whispered.

The Harunos knew who he meant. He could see it on their faces.  _ Of course they know,  _ Kakashi thought,  _ Everyone knows. _

Mebuki’s face hardened. She didn’t say that was a burden no child should have had to carry and Kakashi, regardless of his skill, had been a child.

Kakashi finished his glass of wine. He looked up and saw the same pain on the Harunos’ faces that he felt down to his bones on the bad days.  _ Survivor’s guilt and the sort of absence that nothing quite fills. _ He didn’t like seeing it. It didn’t belong in this nice little house with flowers on the table and a picket fence in the backyard. Kakashi wanted it gone.

Kakashi closed his eyes. “I wasn’t lying when I said I was happy.” He said it firmly and the room seemed to brighten just a bit when he opened his eye and met the Harunos’ gaze as unguarded as he knew how to be at this point.

Mebuki snorted. “I get the feeling you don’t lie much. You wear a mask and let other people tell the lies for you.” She wiped the unshed tears from her eyes and reached out to run a hand through Kizashi’s hair. He leaned into the touch and gave his wife a watery smile. 

Kakashi shrugged. “Easier that way.”

Mebuki wanted to say that it seemed a lonely way to live. 

Kakashi chose his next words carefully. He wanted them to understand. If he could go back to 4 years old and still know everything he knew now, there were so many things he’d do differently. But, he really was happy with this life he’d managed to build himself. “It took a long time, but I made my peace with the dead. I learned to forgive myself. I found reasons to keep living.”

Kakashi’s mind flickered back to Pakkun, patient and loyal to the last, and Gai with his infectious optimism and knack for catching Kakashi on bad days. 

Kakashi licked his lips and continued. “I chased the things that brought me joy and made me feel alive.” He thought of the missions with Team Rho, the way they moved together like pieces of the same whole, the ease with which he and Tenzou settled together.

Then Kakashi looked up and smiled. If his eye was a bit too bright in the low light, he’d blame Obito’s influence. “When I was in the academy, and before, being a shinobi was something that was expected of me. It was what I expected of me. It was just what Hatakes did.”

Kizashi was nodding like he understood.

“After the war, it became something that I chose. I found a purpose helping people, in protecting the things I loved. I found peace and clarity in the physical nature of the work and a family in the people I fought beside,” Kakashi finished. 

“I understand that,” Kizashi said. “There was never any doubt that I would take over the Haruno trade business from my dad. I was the eldest child and the only son.”

_ The weight of a name, _ Kakashi thought to himself.

Kizashi fiddled with the bottom button of his horrid shirt. “At first I resented it. I didn’t want to spend my life on the road, but after a while I fell in love with the travelling, getting to see new places and meet new people.” At the end, the man smiled and smoothed his fingers over the embroidery.

Kakashi’s eyes flickered to Mebuki.

“I come from a long line of women who did what they had to. The only thing I wasn’t allowed to do was settle,” she said with a wry smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “So this found family of yours, anyone extra special?” Mebuki caught Kakashi’s eye and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

The laughter bubbled up in Kakashi’s chest and he couldn’t hold it in. It was like a switch flipped and a weight was lifted off all of them. Not so long ago they’d been a sort of enemy, but Kakashi’d learned long ago that friends and enemies really weren’t so far apart.

“Nah. No time for dating. Too busy,” Kakashi said.

Kizashi nodded. He jerked his head towards Mebuki. “I said the same thing. She just sort of showed up at my shop, insulted the way I had my merchandise displayed, and refused to leave until she’d rearranged the whole place. Then, at that point, I owed her dinner. The rest is history.”

“If that’s all it takes, I think I might be married to like half the anbu and most of the other shinobi my age,” Kakashi snickered.

“Big family,” Kizashi teased. 

“I learned pretty early on to cook like I’m feeding an army, because half the time an army shows up. Or Guy who eats like an army. Or Tenzou who kind of is a one man army.”

That genuinely sparked Mebuki’s interest. Her eyes lit up and she twirled the stem of her glass between her thumb and finger. “And what do you feed an army? I’m partial to casseroles. I can fit 4 at a time in my oven.” 

“Stew. I’ve got a giant pot that’s been in the family forever.”

Kizashi nudged his wife. “She likes to put on this tough-as-nails act, but whenever something happens around the neighborhood she starts organizing the casserole brigade.”

Mebuki rolled her eyes. “There are times that no one should have to cook and times you need a home cooked meal. Sometimes they overlap.”

Kakashi nodded. He understood the implication. Mebuki took care of her own. “Good food and people to share it with can be its own sort of medicine.”

“What’s your favorite thing to cook?” Mebuki refilled her and Kizashi’s glasses and relaxed. Her mother had taught her that food was a language of its own. “I love you” could be heard in layers of cheese and potatoes. It seemed Kakashi was fluent.

Kakashi smiled back. “Trout. Fresh. Fillet it and throw it in a skillet with butter, thyme, and lemon pepper. Rice and whatever vegetable is in season for sides.” 

Mebuki raised an eyebrow. “That’s very specific.”

Kakashi leaned back into the chair and let himself relax a little bit. “My dad taught me. We’d get up at the crack of dawn, pack a couple sandwiches for lunch, and spend the whole day fishing. We’d come home and he’d cook.” It was Kakashi’s earliest complete memory.

“My favorite is rabbit. Roasted over a fire, not done in the oven.” 

Kizashi wrinkled his nose. 

  
“It’s too rich for my husband and Sakura stopped eating it about the time she figured out the rabbit and bunny were synonyms, so I don’t cook it much anymore,” Mebuki explained. “But I’ve got a lot of fond memories of cooking with my mom and wildgame was one of her specialities.”

“I love your turkey and venison,” Kizashi muttered. “The rabbit’s just rich and duck has a funny texture.”

Kakashi laughed. “You sound like Naruto.”

“He a fussy eater?” Mebuki asked.

Kakashi groaned. “Getting him to eat anything green and not served with ramen noodles has always been a chore. Luckily he’s not nearly as picky these days.”

“Sakura went through a phase where she only wanted to eat peanut butter sandwiches,” Mebuki commiserated.

“About the same time she decided she wanted to be an opera singer,” Kizashi added.

Kakashi snickered. “How old was she?”

“4?” Kizashi glanced at Mebuki who nodded. “It was the last phase before she zeroed in on being a shinobi.”

Kakashi tensed slightly. They were back where they’d started. “She really is an excellent shinobi.” He said it firmly.

Kizashi’s lips twitched like he was trying not to laugh. “I’m glad, because if opera singer is still her backup plan--”

Mebuki elbowed her husband. “She has a lovely singing voice.”

Kizashi looked down at his wife and giggled. 

“She’s just not a soprano, even though she would have really liked to be one.” Mebuki kept a straight face for a full 3 heartbeats before she too started snickering.

“Kids are great. I’m pretty sure they’re all a little bit insane,” Kakashi said.

“What’s the weirdest thing your 2 have done?”

Kakashi thought for a minute. “Naruto once ‘rescued’ 6 big bullfrogs from the rain and set them loose in the house. Sasuke set the curtains on fire practicing jutsu in the house and then tried to cover it by burning a bunch of pasta in a pot on the stove. His cover story was that he forgot the water.”

“Hey!” an indignant voice interrupted. 

Kakashi glanced over to see the 3 kids just inside the backdoor. Sasuke was glaring, Sakura was hiding a grin behind her hand, and Naruto tried to disguise a burst of laughter as a cough.

“If you’re going to tell embarrassing stories, just remember what goes around comes around,” Sasuke said darkly.

Kakashi gestured to his outfit. “Do you really think I have any shame left at this point?”

An evil smile danced on the Uchiha’s lips. “Last time you had Gai watch us, he told us all sorts of stories. He even had pictures. There was one particularly great one involving matching jumpsuits.”

Kakashi narrowed his eye. “Fine. Truce.”

The kids made their way back into the living room. Sakura wormed her way between her parents and the boys plopped on the floor and leaned against Kakashi’s legs.

They talked for a bit longer, but Naruto’s head was bobbing and Sasuke’s eyes were drifting closed, so Kakashi nudged them to say their goodbyes.

\---

When the Hatake family was gone and Sakura was tucked upstairs in her bed, Mebuki and Kizashi lingered downstairs, picking up the last of the dinner dishes.

“We should have them over more often,” Kizashi said. 

Mebuki nodded. “Maybe we could keep the kids for a weekend every now and then, give Kakashi a chance to act his age.” She didn’t say that her brother would only be 2 years older than Kakashi if he’d survived the war. 

\---

Kakashi put his boys to bed. 

In his own room, he pulled off the tropical shirt. It was starting to grow on him. He couldn’t really think of it as the horrible shirt anymore. He undid most of the bandages on his arms. He’d only tried to cover the bruises to be polite. 

“Well?” Pakkun’s sleepy voice came from Kakashi’s bed. “You were gone longer than I expected.”

“It went better than I expected,” Kakashi replied. He stretched, trying to work out the stiffness that had settled in over the evening before laying down. He felt warm and relaxed. “Made new allies.”

Pakkun made a surprised sound. “Really?”

Kakashi shrugged and plopped onto the bed beside the dog. “Minato would have been proud,” he mumbled. “It was his favorite sort of politics. Feelings and what not.” Kakashi yawned.

Pakkun snuggled up to Kakashi’s side. “Well when it works, it works. Our strongest allies are the ones he got through to.”

Kakashi huffed. “Yeah. Still, I wanted to kill him when he insisted on meeting the ambassador from Iwa at home. That was a security nightmare.” 

Pakkun nosed Kakashi’s arm. “Well I don’t know that the Harunos are heavy hitters in the political arena, but it’s good for you to have people who understand the whole parenting thing.” 

Kakashi was already asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back and so are the Harunos. I accidentally created a really detailed backstory for Kizashi and Mebuki (most of which I probably won't use for this story), but for some reason they're the hardest characters for me to write. 
> 
> A little meta on this chapter:   
> It's a transition point with 4 main jobs as far as the overall narrative goes:   
> 1\. Put the chuunin exams on Kakashi's radar  
> 2\. Establish some of the politics going on that readers don't get to see in canon until the end of the chuunin exam and later on as flashbacks (perks of having point of view characters besides Nart)  
> 3\. Set up Sakura's parents for some future scenes  
> 4\. Start bridging the gap between the shinobis and civilians (it's a pretty big divide at this point in this universe). 
> 
> The next couple chapters will be an arc of my own creation and we'll be back to some actual shinobi work (I'm chaffing to get back to the meat of the story, so I'm sure you are too). Updates will continue to be on the slower side due to work. As always, thanks for reading and I love talking about this stuff.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the kind anon who let me know that I posted this chapter to one of the shorts I wrote for TenDaysOfTenzo instead of to The Strength of the Pack, thank you! This is why I shouldn't post fics in the early hours of the morning.

Kakashi surveyed his team. The sun was sinking low in the sky and they’d been training most of the day and he was trying to decide if he could squeeze one more exercise out of them. 

Sakura stretched while grabbing some water. Her hair was plastered to her sweaty forehead.

Naruto was sprawled out in the grass. There was a smear of dirt across his face and he was still breathing hard.

Sasuke was looking over his kunai and setting aside the ones that would need sharpened after the abuse of target practice and sparring. He sat carefully. There was a wicked bruise forming on his ribs.

Sasuke caught Kakashi watching. 

“We’ve got another half hour,” Kakashi said. “Either we can go on a cooldown jog and stretch or we can work on something of your choice.”

Naruto just groaned.

“I wouldn’t mind a run if no one else has something they want to work on,” Sakura said with a tired smile.

“Can you teach us genjustu?”

Three heads turned to stare at Sasuke.

“It seems like a useful skill to have on a team,” Sasuke said defensively

“It can be,” Kakashi agreed. “It’s just not something I’m really qualified to teach.”

“Oh,” Sasuke’s brow wrinkled and he sounded disappointed which confused Kakashi. Of the 3 kids, Sakura was the only one who’d shown any aptitude for genjutsu in the academy. None of them had shown any interest in pursuing that path of ninjutsu.

Sasuke tightened his sandals and stood up. “Where are we running?”   
  


Kakashi led his team around the training grounds and through the village. They took to the rooftops near downtown and skirted the Hokage’s office. Kakashi waved to the anbu on guard duty and Boar waved back. 

Kakashi called a new formation every couple blocks, letting the kids rotate and practice not stepping on toes or heels. They ended their jog outside the Haruno house.

“Make sure you stretch,” Kakashi ordered as he waved her towards the house.

Sakura gave him a tired smile and headed for the front door.

When she looked back, the boys were already gone.

\---

“You really want to learn genjutsu?” Kakashi asked Sasuke over dinner.

Sasuke shrugged. “It seems like it’d be useful,” he repeated and after a beat of hesitation added, “I know the sharingan can be used for some high level genjutsu.”

Kakashi nodded. “It can. I just never learned. Genjutsu’s not something I have a strong affinity for. I can see about finding someone else to help, though.”

Sasuke smiled at that. “Shikamaru overheard his dad talking with some other clan heads about the chuunin exam. I did some research on past exams and it seems like balanced teams have an advantage. Our team’s not very balanced. We lean pretty heavily toward physical attackers with some midrange support. Either improving our use of traps or adding genjutsu to our skillset would help.”

Kakashi blinked. “I don’t know if you guys qualify to take the exam.”

Sasuke shrugged. “We’ll have to take it eventually, right?”

“Kiba’s team is entering,” Naruto said around a mouthful of rice. “Shikamaru’s team will probably enter too.”

“Shikamaru’s trying to figure a way out of it, but that’s just because he’s lazy. Ino said she’s going to drag him to the exam if she has to,” Sasuke added.

Kakashi wanted to point out that the exam hadn’t even been officially announced yet.  _ Sensei mode, _ he reminded himself and instead, he gave the boys a wicked grin. “If you want to consider entering the chuunin exams, we’ll need to step up training. These aren’t like the academy graduation exams.”

The boys shared a look across the table and then grinned back at Kakashi.

“You’re not going to scare us,” Naruto declared. 

\---

Come morning, the boys regretted such a bold declaration. 

Kakashi’s whole pack of ninken started howling at 5AM on the dot.

The boys staggered downstairs, sleepied, wearing pajamas, and armed to the teeth.

Kakashi was lacing his sandals on the couch and smirked at the kids.

“Are we under attack?” Naruto asked.

“Nope,” Kakashi popped the ‘p.’ “You want to enter the chuunin exams, we’ve got to pick up the training.”

Naruto groaned and flopped onto the living room rug.

The sharingan faded from Sasuke’s eyes and he leaned against the wall.

Pakkun wandered over and nosed the Naruto’s hair. “I think you broke him,” Pakkun said to Kakashi.

Kakashi just laughed. “Go get dressed. You and the dogs are going to go pick up Sakura and Pakkun’s going to take you on a run to start the day. I’ve got to go bother some jounin.”

Naruto groaned again, but heaved himself off the floor.

The boys staggered upstairs and Kakashi headed for the door. The pack would get the kids moving. 

\---

Kakashi found the jounin he was looking for, and several others, at the training grounds. Ungodly hours of the morning really were the only time Jounin senseis could count on to be their own.

Gai and Asuma were sparring. Kakashi couldn’t see either of them in the predawn darkness, but he could smell Asuma’s shitty cigarettes and hear Gai’s teasing.

Kurenai was leaning against the fence and drinking coffee with Anko. A lantern sat between the 2 kunoichi. They both looked up when Kakashi shuushined next to them. 

“Just who I was hoping to find,” Kakashi said.

“Here to get your asss kicked, Hatake?” Anko asked. She was smiling and the shadows on her face made her look downright evil.

“Maybe,” Kakashi shrugged. “Depends on how hard of a bargain Kurenai drives.”

Kurenai raised an eyebrow. 

“Sasuke wants to learn genjutsu.”

“Smart kid,” Kurenai sipped her coffee and let Kakashi stew. 

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair and sighed, of course she was going to make him say it. “You’re the best ocular genjustuist in the village. I’ll owe you a big one.”

Kurenai beamed. “Oh, you so will.”

“So?”

“You’re in luck. I’m down a kid this week, Shino’s got some Aburame right of passage thing, and we got tapped for a mission. I’ll train Sasuke if I can borrow him for the week,” Kurenai said it with absolute glee. “Plus, you owe me a favor.” 

Anko whistled. “You really did come here to get your ass kicked.”

Kakashi snorted and rolled his eyes. “You drive a hard bargain, but deal. When do you want him?”

“10 o’clock at the gates and ready for an away mission. The daimyo's guards had a prisoner escape. Last they saw he was headed towards the border with Grass. We have permission to cross the border.”

“He’ll be ready.”

“Great. Want some coffee?” Kurenai held out a stack of paper cups and nodded at a thermos on the ground by the fence post.

“No thanks,” Kakashi waved her off. His luck he’d caffeine crash right about the time the kids finished their run and it was his turn to run the training session.

“Want to sparr?” Anko asked. “It’s been forever.”

“Sure.” Kakashi shrugged and rolled his shoulders to loosen his muscles. He was up early and Pakkun was watching the kids, might as well take advantage of it.

Anko beamed and climbed to her feet. She left her coffee on the ground by Kurenai and led the way out onto the grassy field of the primary training ground. 

“So how you want to do it, Hatake? Taijutsu? Weapons only? Anything goes?”

“Taijutsu with weapons sounds good. I do have to entertain 2 of my genin the rest of the day.”

Anko laughed. “This is why I didn’t volunteer to take a team.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes, not that Anko could see it in the dark. His uncovered eye was mostly adjusted to the dark and she was just a gray blob. “Your team would be the source of nightmares, assuming you didn’t scare them off the first week,” Kakashi said.

“I can’t tell if you’re implying I should totally get 3 mini-mes or if I shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near children,” Anko fired back. She stretched lightly and Kakashi caught a flash of white when she smiled at him.

“You should totally get 3 mini-mes. I fully support anything that gives the council of elders heart palpitations and you’d train a good team. Again, assuming they don’t scare easily.”

“Do your’s scare easily?” Anko said as she drew akunai and lunged at Kakashi’s throat.

Kakashi slipped to the side and snorted. “Yes, but Naruto’s too stubborn and knuckleheaded to listen to his instincts.,Sasuke actively ignores any instincts he has, and Sakura--” Kakashi blocked another slashing strike with his own kunai. For a heartbeat, they were locked together, grappling and testing each other’s defenses. 

Kakashi had the advantage of height and weight. 

  
  


Anko had momentum on her side.

It was an even match for that heartbeat, but they both knew it would swing in Kakashi’s favor if their blades stayed locked together much longer.

Anko jumped back and landed in an aggressive stance. “You were saying?”   
  


“Sakura’s the only one who regularly makes decisions entirely with her head. She’s got good instincts and she’ll listen to them, but put her friends in danger or piss her off and she’s fearless.” Kakashi’s mind flashed back to the Land of Waves, Sakura stepping between Tazuna and Zabuza. The scar on her arm, raised and angry pink even months later. 

Anko charged again. She danced around Kakashi, a blade in each hand, looking for any weakness in his guard. 

Kakashi blocked an upward slash and countered with a lightning fast roundhouse.

Anko dropped low and let the kick pass over her head. 

Kakashi’s momentum pulled him in a half circle and exposed his back.

Anko lunged.

Kakashi grinned under his mask. He hadn’t sparred with Anko in years, but he knew her style. With the momentum from the roundhouse still pulling him clockwise, he jumped lightly and fired off a sidekick with his other leg. It lacked the force and stability of a grounded kick, but Anko didn’t weigh much.

Kakashi’s heel connected with Anko’s chest and knocked her to the ground and forced the air out of her lungs.

Kakashi landed unsteady, but recovered quickly.

Anko rolled to her stomach and climbed to her feet. She was breathing hard and grinning like a maniac. “That felt good. Always nice to fight someone who actually hits.”

Then she flickered in the dim light and Kakashi’s only warning was the sound of a kunai moving through the air.

Kakashi danced away from the sound and caught a descending slash on his shoulder. It wasn’t deep, but it stung. 

Anko giggled in Kakashi’s ear. “I’m faster than you are.”

Kakashi drove his elbow backwards before Anko could put a knife to his neck and declare victory.

“You’re fast,” Kakashi admitted, “but I don’t think you’re faster than me.” Technically shuushin were considered ninjutsu, but Anko broke that rule first, so it was now fair game.

Kakashi vanished and reappeared inches in front of Anko. She blocked his strike, but barely. 

Anko shuushined away and kakashi chased her.

They went back and forth, trading glancing blows and shallow cuts.

The truth became apparent. Kakashi was faster, but Anko kept her movements unpredictable so as long as she kept her early lead he could only chase.

Kakashi tried to sweep Anko’s legs.

Anko jumped up and back. She shuushined before her feet hit the ground.

“You’ve been in the village longer than usual,” Kakashi remarked. “Getting in some extra training?” Anko rarely spent more than a week at a time in Konoha. She’d been around for almost a month.

Anko groaned. “It’s not by choice. The Third gave me a new assignment and now I’m stuck.” She threw a kunai at Kakashi, just to keep him moving and dodging.

“What sort of assignment?”

“Scaring genin. Any tips?”

Kakashi’s eyes widened. “So the exam’s definitely happening?”

Anko laughed. “When’d you get so far out of the loop? Or were you purposefully trying to ignore it?”

Kakashi sighed and shuushined after Anko. “Just be your usual self. Anyone who can’t handle you shouldn’t be a chuunin.”

“Again, I’m not sure if that’s an insult,” Anko teased. She sounded noticeably winded. 

“It’s the truth. You’re good and you’re scary when you want to be. Anyone who’d be afraid to work with you has no business moving up in the shinobi world. That’s how we get the sort of shinobi who can’t a hold a line.”

“Or worse, the sort who’ll put a knife in your back out of fear,” Anko muttered.

Kakashi grunted in agreement and rolled with her gut punch. The 2 of them had always had an odd understanding. Their reputations preceded them. They walked in the shadows of the men who trained them and the people whose blood was on their hands.

“You entering you team? They sound like if nothing else they’d make it interesting.”

“I don’t think I’m going to get out of doing it,” Kakashi muttered. “They want to participate and the other rookies are entering.”

“Their mission records are pretty impressive,” Anko said. “Not that anyone should be surprised by that. Between their bloodlines and your training, it’s only to be expected that they’re a force even as kids.”

Kakashi didn’t say anything to that. 

“Don’t worry too much. The proctors are good this year. We’ve got twice as many chuunin on call to help monitor things. There’s too many eyes on the exams this year to let any accidents happen.”

“I know that should be comforting, but it isn’t.”

Anko slipped a blade under Kakashi’s guard.

Kakashi swayed backwards and only got a knick on his collarbone for his trouble. 

“Got to let the babies try out their wings eventually,” Anko grinned. “I promise they know how to fly. You fight a Swordsman and you earn your flight feathers.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

The pair continued to trade blows until the sun started to paint the sky a pale pink. 

“I got a meeting to get to,” Anko pantted.

“I’ve got kids to retrieve before the dogs run them into the ground,” Kakashi replied. “Call it a draw for today?”

Anko breathed a sigh of relief and tucked her kunai back in her pouch. “Only because I don’t want the kids to run you into the ground.”

Kakashi waved his thanks and headed for the entrance of the training grounds. 

“You want that coffee now?” Kurenai asked with a knowing smile.

Kakashi waved it off. “Appreciate the offer, but at least one person on my team has to be not hyperactive and knowing the 3 of them, that’s on me 9 days out of 10.”

Kurenai snorted. “Sasuke doesn’t seem like the hyperactive sort.”

“Oh he’s not. Unless there’s a competition of some sort involved… Or something can be turned into a competition. You’ll need to watch out for that.”

Kurenai just laughed. “All the better. I’m really looking forward to this. Has there ever been an Uchiha and a Hyuga on the same team before?”

Kakashi shrugged. “All I know is I kind of feel bad for the poor bastard you’re hunting down.”

Kurenai smiled, all teeth, and her eyes flashed in the morning light. It wasn’t uncommon for people outside the village to mistake the eyes of a Yuuhi for the sharingan, but to someone who’d seen both the difference was stark. The sharingan was a violent crimson that glowed like hot metal. The Yuuhi clan’s eyes were the product of their natural affinity for genjutsu. They didn’t glow and the color was darker, more like blood. 

\---

Kakashi found his pack (human and hound) sprawled out in his backyard. 

Naruto appeared to be asleep. Pakkun and Bisuke were curled up on either side of him.

Sakura was blinking heavily, but at least making the pretenses of stretching.

Sasuke was propped against a tree with Bull’s head on his lap, rubbing the dog’s velvety soft ears.

Had Bull not weighed more than Sasuke, Kakashi figured the Uchiha would have jumped to his feet and pretended to be stretching when Kakashi shuushined into the yard.

As it was, Sasuke glanced between Bull and Kakashi and gave Kakashi a sheepish grin.

Kakashi smiled under his mask. 

“Hey boss,” Pakkun yawned. “The kids are pretty good at keeping up with the rest of the pack.”

Kakashi clapped his hands loudly, startling Naruto awake.

The blond grumbled and glared at Kakashi. His disgruntled expression shifted to confusion and the concern. “You’re bleeding,” Naruto said.

Kakashi winced. He’d more or less forgotten about the little cuts from his sparring match.

“You really did bother the other jounin,” Naruto’s voice had more awe in it than Kakashi liked. 

“I didn’t really bother them. I have a standing invitation. Normal people talk over coffee. Jounin talk over knife fights.”

If anything, Naruto looked even more impressed. 

Kakashi sighed. “Sasuke, you need to go pack. You’ve got about 2 hours until you need to meet Team 8 at the main gates. You’re joining them for an away mission and Kurenai’s going to help you with genjutsu.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened.

Bull sighed and shifted his head off of Sasuke’s lap so the Uchiha could get up and stagger inside on sore legs.

Naruto and Sakura were both complaining about not getting to on a mission too. Kakashi waved the complaints off. “We’ll find something the three of us can do while he’s gone,” Kakashi promised and that mostly calmed them down. 

Naruto was still pouting, but he was also edging closer to Kakashi and trying to count the little nicks and cuts.

“Want to practice first aid?” Kakashi asked. 

Both of his remaining kids nodded with a concerning amount of enthusiasm.

Naruto lost stitching privileges almost immediately. His sewing was inconsistent and he didn’t put enough tension in it to actually close any wounds.

Sakura on the other hand proved very competent with a needle and unbothered by a little blood. The fact that she hummed lightly while stitching the gash on Kakashi’s shoulder was only a little creepy. It sort of reminded Kakashi of Anko.

Kakashi eyed Sakura’s handiwork. He didn’t recognize the stitch. 

“I read about stitching techniques after the fight with Zabuza. This stitch is good for shallow cuts and doesn’t usually scar much. It’s also easiest to remove the stitches,” Sakura explained proudly.

Kakashi ruffled her hair and shifted to give her better access to the cut on his collarbone.

Sakura beamed. 

Naruto sighed in relief at not being asked to stitch anymore cuts. Watching the needle go in and out of skin made his stomach turn.

\---

Kakashi put Naruto and Sakura to work making breakfast and jogged upstairs to check on Sasuke.

“Any advice?” Sasuke asked when he spotted Kakashi leaning against his doorframe.

“About what?”

“Kurenai-sensei? Team 8? Genjutsu? The mission? Anything?” Sasuke’s hand shook just a bit as he folded a shirt and tucked it in his backpack.

Kakashi wondered if it was nerves or excitement. 

“Kurenai’s an excellent shinobi. She’s arguably the best genjutsuist in the village and she can beat my sharingan. Granted, I’m not an Uchiha, but it’s still a skill to be respected.”

Sasuke nodded.

“I only know her as a teammate, but I assume her leadership style isn’t all that different. She’s kind and compassionate, but firm. She doesn't put up with any shit and if you piss her off, she’s slow to forget.”

Sasuke nodded again. “In other words tow the line and I’ll be okay?”

“Just do what you normally do on missions.”

Sasuke nodded and packed his arm guards. 

Kakashi waited, but Sasuke didn’t volunteer any other information. “What’s got you worrying?” Kakashi asked after a minute.

Sasuke fiddled with the shirt in his hands. He ran his fingers across the Uchiha crest stitched on the back. “This is important. I don’t want to mess up.”

“This isn’t just about genjutsu is it?” Kakashi asked. He stepped into the room and sat on the edge of Sasuke’s bed.

Sasuke sighed and sat down beside Kakashi. “The strongest Uchiha were the ones who excelled at genjutsu. It’s what made Itachi and Shisui geniuses.”

Kakashi nodded. “Just do your best. If you don’t have an affinity for genjutsu, there’s other ways to be strong.”

“I know, but I need to be the strongest.” Sasuke looked up at Kakashi with wide dark eyes. “Itachi and Shisui were the strongest and they couldn’t protect their family. I have to be stronger than them.”

And Kakashi’s heart shattered, because he knew that look and that line of thinking.  _ Just got to be strong enough to protect Rin. Protect Tenzou. Protect Itachi. Protect Naruto. Protect Sasuke. Protect Sakura. _

Kakashi ruffled Sasuke’s hair. “You just focus on being the strongest Sasuke you can be. Unlike Itachi and Shisui, you’re not working alone. No matter how strong you get, Team 7 will always be stronger. We all add to the collective power of our team and we’re greater than the sum of our parts. We protect each other.”

Sasuke nodded and looked away a little sheepish. “I also want to impress Kurenai-sensei,” he admitted.

Kakashi snorted. 

“Not liked that,” Sasuke punched Kakashi in the shoulder lightly. “She’s your friend and I want to make you proud.”

“You always make me proud.”

Sasuke smiled a little at that. 

\---

Sasuke met Team 8 at the village gates just before 10AM. 

Kiba had Akamaru on his head and he grinned when he spotted Sasuke sitting on a bench.

Hinata waved but stayed half hidden behind Kurenai.

“Ready?” Kurenai asked.

Sasuke jumped to his feet and resettled his bag on his shoulders. “Ready to go.”

Kurenai smiled. “Great. Then let’s get moving. Formation delta.” She watched Sasuke’s face closely, looking for any hint of uncertainty or confusion, but he fell into step on Kurenai’s left while Hinata moved to the jounin’s right and Kiba took point. As long as the wind was in their favor, Kiba would have the best chance at detecting the target earliest. Were the wind not in their favor, Hinata would take the lead with the byakugan’s ex-ray vision.

They didn’t start out too fast, Kiba set the pace at a light jog that they could all keep up for hours.

Kurenai briefed Sasuke quickly. They’re target was a drug runner. He’d been born and got his start in Fire Country’s largest port city, situated downstream of Konoha where the Nakano joined with several other rivers to become wide, flat, and deep before it crossed into water country and made its way to the sea. He then moved to Grass Country where the rich soil, open plains, and large swaths of undeveloped land allowed him to build a massive drug growing operation to pair with the import and export network he built in Fire Country.

The man’s name was Eiji and he was known to be ruthless and not above using his underlings like sacrificial pawns. Chances were he was armed and well funded. Rumor had it that he had emergency caches all over Fire and Grass Country.

Kurenai was pleased to have another offensively oriented shinobi on the team. There was no way Eiji was going back to prison without a fight and she knew Kakashi’s team were capable of throwing a solid punch. She would have taken anyone of them, but Sasuke especially seemed like he would mesh well with Kiba’s wild offense and Hinata’s controlled and precise style. 

Assuming Sasuke’s eyes were similar to Kakashi’s he’d be able to read their movements and blend into the missing mid range attacker role with his shuriken skills and fire jutsus. 

While Kurenai evaluated Sasuke, he kept his eyes moving, scanning the forest just the way they were taught to. He watched how Kiba moved and matched the other genin’s stride.

When Kurenai’s attention drifted to the other genin, Sasuke stole glances at her. He could see how people might mistake her for an Uchiha. He knew she wasn’t one, but he still felt a pull towards her. Her long dark hair was curly and a bit wild. It reminded him of Shisui. Her eyes were red enough to make him divert his eyes like he would for another sharingan, even though they lacked the tome and luminescence of the sharingan.

Sasuke wanted to ask her questions, but Kiba and Hinata both ran in silence. The quiet was heavy and Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to break it.

The team moved in relative silence for the better part of the day. Startled squirrels chattered at their passage, or maybe Akamaru’s scent. Occasionally a burst of birdsong would float through the air.

  
They stopped once for food and water midafternoon and then not again until near sunset.

Setting up camp followed the same sort of pattern that Sasuke was used to. They laid out their bed rolls, set up rain covers, and gathered firewood. Kiba fiddled with a lighter. The wood was a bit damp and didn’t want to start.

“I can light it,” Sasuke offered.

Kiba held the lighter out to the Uchiha who just motioned for the Inuzuka to move back.

Sasuke spat a small fireball into the fire pit. The wood burst into flames.

“Well aren’t you just handy,” Kurenai said with a smile.

Kiba’s eyes widened and he looked at Sasuke in awe. “You can spit flaming loogies?!”

“You’ve seen me use my fireball jutsu several times?” Sasuke frowned.

“It’s just different,” Kiba insisted.

Sasuke just shook his head.

They are reheated rations around the fire in relative silence. Kiba shared his rations with Akamaru and Hinata hummed quietly to herself while digging things out of her bag to put a kettle for tea on the fire.

Sasuke felt off balance. The routine was so similar to the one he was used to, but just off.

“We’ve still got a bit of daylight left,” Kerenai said. “You want to start with some genjutsu basics?” she looked at Sasuke expectantly.

Sasuke nodded. 

Kurenai motioned for him to join her sitting in the grass a little ways from the fire.

“Tell me what you already know about genjutsu,” Kurenai said.

“It’s one of the 3 main branches of jutsus and like ninjutsu it requires the use of chakra. THe purpose of genjutsu is to manipulate the target’s cerebral nervous system and create false sensory input. Chakra is used to mimic the electrical impulses in the brain,” Sasuke listed off everything he remembered from the academy.

Kurenai smiled. “Textbook perfect.”

Sasuke ducked his head slightly at the praise. “I wasn’t very good at it when they tested us in the academy, but I remember the fundamentals.”

“That’s okay. I wasn’t very good at the genjutsu the academy teaches when I was your age either,” Kurenai leaned back a bit and relaxed her posture. She gave Sasuke an easy smile when he mirrored her more relaxed posture unconsciously. “The genjutsu they teach in the academy focuses heavily on the transmission of chakra as electrical impulses, because in theory everyone can do that. It took me a long time to figure out how to refine the technique enough to create realistic illusions and not just dissorient. 

Sasuke nodded. The best he’d managed in the academy was to make Choji dizzy. Iruka had steered Sasuke towards ninjutsu and taijutsu after that, since Sasuke had natural skill in those areas.

“My clan teaches specifically ocular genjutsu which straddles the line between genjutsu and ninjutsu. It’s a target attack that overlays a false vision on top of the target’s optical receptors,” Kurenai explained. “I then pair it with a more standard genjutsu attack to fool the other senses, but even on its own ocular genjutsu is powerful.”

Sasuke shifted and frowned. “Will it work the same way for me?”

“I don’t know how the Uchiha clan taught genjutsu,” Kurenai admitted, “but I know my clan’s techniques will work for you. Like other sensory specific genjutsu, it’s all about catching the attention of your opponent’s senses. Your sharingan is plenty flashy to do the job.” 

“I can do it,” Hinata chimed in as she pulled the teapot off the fire. 

Kurenai nodded. “I tried to get my team to buy into the whole genjutsuist gig, but they’ve all got their own clan techniques that fit them better.”

Hinata came over and offered both Kurenai and Sasuke a cup of steaming team. “It’s chamomile and lavender.”

“Thank you, Hinata,” Kurenai took a cup.

“Thank you,” Sasuke echoed.

Hinata went back to crouching by the fire with Kiba. Akamaru stretched out between them and they both absentmindedly stroked the dog. 

Hinata poked at the fire with a stick and Kiba sprawled out in the warmth. 

Kurenai sipped at the tea and Sasuke did the same. It seemed the lesson was on hold.

“You have any questions, yet?” Kurenai asked.

“Does everyone in your clan have red eyes?”

Kurenai nodded into the tea. She’d wondered if Sasuke would ask about her clan. 

“Most of us. We’re not related to the Uchiha clan as far as back as we have written records for. We’re actually pretty sure the clan originated somewhere in Stone country and didn’t move to Fire Country until the early days of Konoha. Our eyes are just a genetic quirk. We don’t have additional chakra channels around them like Uchiha and Hyuga do,” Kurenai explained. 

Sasuke nodded and did his best not to show his disappointment. For a while, he’d wondered if maybe he wasn’t quite so alone in the world, if maybe this other clan was some distant offshoot with heavily diluted sharingan. “Is your clan big?” 

“There’s quite a few of us, Yuuhi, about 40 who live in Konoha and the nearby towns. Most of them are civilians though.”

“That’s big enough to be one of the main clans in Konoha. Why don’t you have a seat on the council?” Sasuke winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

Kurenai just shrugged. “We’ve talked about petitioning for one, but there’s concerns that it would create an obligation to provide the village with more shinobi and choice is a big part of our culture. Individual freedom and creativity are deeply ingrained in our traditions.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and sipped his tea. It had the sweetness of chamomile and he couldn’t quite tell if he tasted the lavender or just smelled it. It was warm and soothing as the temperature dropped with the sun. The evening was cool. 

Sasuke never considered being something other than a shinobi. His earliest memory was of Father and Itachi training in the backyard. Mother had been the one to first show him how to hold a kunai. 

Then after they were all gone, he had Kakashi who was raised a shinobi and grew up on the battlefield and Naruto. Naruto who would swear up and down he wanted to be a shinobi, the best shinobi even, despite knowing he didn’t have any other choice as a jinchuuriki.

Sasuke wondered if anyone he knew ever really had a choice. What would growing up in a clan like Kurenai’s have looked like?

“Why’d you become a shinobi?” Sasuke blurted out.

Kurenai thought for a minute. “My dad’s a shinobi. He never encouraged or discouraged me from following in his footsteps, but he did teach me to use my eyes and a knife as soon as I could. The world was at war and war doesn’t stop to ask whether you’re a shinobi or a civilian.”

Sasuke nodded.

Kurenai swirled the dregs of her tea around. “I was good at it. The genjutsu, not really the knife work, but I saw the other kids my age entering the academy. I saw them training as shinobi and medics and getting ready to protect the people they loved and I realized I could do that too. I wanted to do that.”

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. The world was at peace now, but he remembered that same feeling. When Mother explained Itachi had to leave so often, because he was protecting the village. He may not have grown up with the freedom Kurenai had, but he made the same choice all the same.

“Why do you want to learn genjutsu?” Kurenai asked.

“I want to be strong enough to protect my family and friends,” Sasuke said without hesitation.

Kurenai nodded. “Then I guess we should get started.”

Kurenai had Sasuke start by activating his sharingan and then gathering additional chakra behind his eyes.

Sasuke figured out how to pull chakra specifically to his eyes almost immediately. With the sharingan already active, it created a light pressure.

Casting the genjutsu then required expelling that chakra through his eyes in a pulse. That was harder. Releasing a burst of chakra from his eyes while also maintaining the sharingan was difficult. Sasuke quickly figured out that one or the other had to be almost instinctive, because he couldn’t think about both at the same time.

The sun sank lower and night gathered beneath the trees. 

Sasuke and Kurenai stayed at the edge of the firelight and Sasuke kept trying to cast a genjutsu on the jounin.

Kurenai took the opportunity to study the sharingan. She’d seen Kakashi’s plenty of times, but never had the chance to really look at it. The lazy orbit of Sasuke’s single tome around his pupil was almost hypnotic and the darker the evening got, the harder it was too look away from the dull, red glow.

Kurenai felt like she was falling and the world tinted ruby red. The sensation only lasted for a heartbeat, but was a very familiar sort of disorienting.

“You got it!” Kurenai beamed.

Sasuke blinked in surprise. “I did?” 

Kureania snorted. “And that’s how we know you’ve got an affinity for it. Do it again.” 

Sasuke frowned and tried to remember what he’d done, what it had felt like. Pressure built as he gathered chakra behind his eyes. Instead of trying to push the chakra past his sharingan, he let the chakra flood his sharingan, almost like he was letting the chakra was the color out of his eyes.

This time, he saw the genjutsu take. The sharingan was reflected in Kurenai’s eyes and her face went blank for a couple seconds and then the chakra Sasuke had pooled behind his eyes ran out and in trying to draw more he lost both the genjutsu and his sharingan.

Sasuke sagged a little. He felt drained and tired.

“Good job,” Kurenai said. “That’s plenty of practice tonight. Tomorrow we can work on extending the duration and then we’ll move onto creating specific illusions.”

Sasuke nodded and staggered on tired legs back towards the fire. He was asleep the second his head hit his bedroll.


	11. Chapter 11

Kiba woke Sasuke up for the last watch.

The Inuzuka flinched when Sasuke’s eyes flickered open, glowing crimson. 

“No trouble. Just your turn,” Kiba mumbled.

Sasuke nodded and crawled out of his sleeping bag. 

Kiba was still watching him.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side in a silent question.

Kiba winced and ran a hand through his wild hair. “Sorry about staring. I’ve never seen your eyes like that before. At least not outside of a sparring match and then I’m trying not to see them.” Kiba flashed Sasuke a grin and his teeth glinted in the moonlight.

Sasuke nodded and stretched for a minute, shaking the sleep out of his limbs. “I have perfect night vision with the sharingan. It doesn’t burn much chakra, so I’ll usually use it to keep watch,” Sasuke explained. 

Kiba nodded. “I forget not everyone can smell things.” He shuffled back to his own bedroll and gave Sasuke a little wave before collapsing into a snoring heap beside Akamaru.

Sasuke watched the stars overhead fade and listened to his team breathe. It was peaceful. Early morning was his favorite time, before even the birds started to stirr. 

Kurenai woke in the half hour before dawn. She rolled over and spotted the Uchiha sitting on a tree branch, staring up at the sky.

With his dark hair and dark clothes, Sasuke’s silhouette was hazy against the deep shadows beneath the trees. He perched on the branch like a forest spirit. 

Kurenai sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. 

Sasuke waved and she nodded back before moving to the fire pit. 

It didn’t take much for Kurenai to coax the banked coals back into a small fire. 

Kiba and Hinata woke to a kettle on the fire and Kurenai digging through her pack for instant oatmeal packets.

Kiba dished up Akamaru a bowl of kibble while Hinata ran a brush through her hair.

Hinata’s eyes wandered up to Sasuke periodically.

With everyone awake and moving, Sasuke let his sharingan fade and climbed down from his perch. The sun was starting to rise and birdsong filled the air.

Kurenai handed Sasuke a bowl of oatmeal and he sat down beside Hinata in front of the fire.

They set off a half hour later. Kurenai didn’t call a formation, but instinctively they settled into loosely the same formation as the day before. Everyone seemed more relaxed.

Sasuke realized the discipline of the day before had probably been for his benefit, giving him a chance to see how the team moved. _And letting them see how I handle myself_.

Kiba and Akamaru took the lead. The wind was blowing straight to them and if there was trouble ahead, they’d have more than enough warning.

Hinata and Sasuke settled on Kiba’s left and right while Kurenai brought up the rear where she could watch all of the kids.

When they started moving, Kiba again set an easy and steady pace. Today, he kept a running commentary on the things he could smell ahead of them.

“Whooo! That’s a lot of deer poop coming up. There’s got to be a herd bedded down. I think I can smell columbine flowers under the ppop, so probably a meadow.”

Darting through the treetops, the 4 shinobi skirted Kiba’s meadow. Dark shapes were just beginning to stir and move through the tall grass.

“There’s babies,” Hinata murmured. 

Sasuke glanced over and saw her eyes buzzing with chakra.

“They’ve still got spots,” Hinata nodded towards the edge of the meadow and even with his sharingan, all Sasuke could see were brown shapes.

Later...

“Ooop! We’ve got a stinky mushroom somewhere to the right,” Kiba declared.

“Great, just don’t let Akamaru roll around in it this time,” Kurenai said dryly.

Hinata snickered and Akamaru whined like he was offended that the jounin would even insinuate he’d do such a thing.

They stopped as a small spring for lunch and took the opportunity to fill their water bottles. The spring wasn’t on the map, but Kiba had picked it out by smell. 

“Really it was the butterwort that gave it away. They have a distinctive smell and only grow in fresh, pure water,” Kiba explained when Sasuke looked at him incredulously. There was a definite note of pride in Kiba’s voice.

As they ate, Hinata shifted closer to Sasuke.

“Hi,” Sasuke said. “Something up?” He didn’t know Hinata well. She’d spent their time in the academy on the edges of the friend group, present but rarely talkative.

Hinata fidgeted for a minute before blurting out, “Can I see your sharingan?”

Sasuke blinked a couple times. He hadn’t expected that. “Sure?” Sasuke channeled his chakra to his eyes and felt his vision sharpen. 

Hinata shifted closer and looked Sasuke in the eyes with open curiosity.

Sasuke thought it was a bit unsettling and fought the urge to shy away. People rarely looked him in the eyes and that went double if the sharingan was active. 

Hinata narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. She noted the way Sasuke’s pupils narrowed slightly when he activated his jutsu, probably to account for an increased sensitivity in his optical receptors. She watched Sasuke’s single tome spin lazily. The tome in his eyes moved in sync as best she could tell. From the side, Hinata couldn’t tell the sharingan was active. Sasuke’s charka network was definitely different form a Hyuga’s.

“Can I look with the byakugan?” Hinata asked. 

“Sure?” Sasuke mumbled and this time he couldn’t suppress a slight shiver. He’d never had someone study his eyes like this. Half remembered nightmares played in the back of Sasuke’s mind. Danzou had taken his clans’ eyes. The horror of that had stayed with Sasuke for a long time.

“It’s okay to say no,” Hinata said. She sat back on her knees and gave Sasuke a friendly smile. “I was just curious. They say the sharingan and the byakugan both descended from a common ancestor.”

“Huh.” Sasuke had never heard that before. Now he was curious too. “You can look if I can?” he offered.

Hinata nodded and immediately Sasuke saw her chakra rush towards her eyes. He couldn’t usually see chakra, but the sheer volume she used and the way it traveled just under her skin were enough to make her skin seem to glow an unearthly silver in the sharingan’s sight.

  
  


For a long minute, the 2 just stared at each other.

Sasuke noted the way the skin around Hinata’s eyes seemed to pull tight over her veins, like she was exerting a great physical effort.

Hinata noted the size, shape, and location of Sasuke’s chakra network where it branched off from his core and fed into his eyes.

Hinata let her byakugan fade and Sasuke released the sharingan. 

“Well?” Sasuke asked.

Hinata pursed her lips and frowned, trying to figure out how to explain the difference. “You have very large chakra channels from your head.”

“And you don’t?”  
  


Hinata shook her head. “Hyuga have very fine chakra channels and a lot more of them. It lets us be extremely precise in our chakra delivery and prevents us from overwhelming our eyes when we use the byakugan. There’s not a lot of space for chakra networks in the head, so ours run under the skin over the orbital bones. That’s why you see those channels swell when we use our eyes. Your chakra network runs through your skull, one big channel right along the optic nerve.”

Sasuke frowned. “Why would our eyes be so different?”

Hinata shrugged. “Hyuga eyes are hard to destroy. Even if the channels that bring chakra to our eyes are damaged, the small size of the channels protects our eyes from chaka burnout. And it's rare that the whole web of channels that feed our eyes would be destroyed in a fight. I’ve never heard of a Hyuga going blind from a combat injury.” 

Sasuke wondered why Hinata was stressing the idea of a combat injury. _How else would the chakra network be damaged?_

Hinata didn’t give Sasuke a chance to ask. She nodded to Sasuke and leveled him with a dead serious stare. “Too much chakra running to your sharingan could definitely damage your optic nerve. Maybe because the channel isn’t exposed the way a Hyuga’s network is, it wasn’t an evolutionary hazard to maximize the amount of chakra you can channel to your eyes? Maybe the sharingan needs more raw chakra than the byakugan? I read that it has a lot more forms and abilities than the byakugan, not that any book explains what all the sharingan can do.”

“I don’t know,” Sasuke admitted. He swallowed hard and stared down at his lap. He’d grown up on stories of the Great Uchiha from generations past. The powers they possessed were legendary and once he’d grown up a bit he attributed them to the oral nature of legends. An affinity for shuushin became the ability to teleport when the story was repeated enough times. Intangibility and skeletal warriors of fire, genjutsu that could reshape reality, they were just myths.

“I don’t really know anything about the sharingan. Kakashi’s taught me everything I know and everything I know he figured out on his own,” Sasuke explained. 

That caught Kurenai’s attention. “Itachi was on Kakashi’s anbu team for a couple years. Why didn’t he train him?”

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably at Itachi’s name. He hadn’t thought about the fact that Kurenai had probably known his brother and other Uchiha. She was Kakashi’s age afterall. “The clan wasn’t happy that Obito gave his eye to an outsider. Regardless of Kakashi’s personal relationship with individual Uchiha, no one was able or willing to give up the clan’s secrets to him.”

Hinata nodded and sighed. “Sometimes I think the clans are too hung up on traditions.”

Kiba flopped down beside Sasuke. “Inuzuka have been saying that for years. If someone wants to learn about dogs, we say let ‘em. At this point, we don’t even know if there’s any ‘Inuzuka blood’ left in the clan.” He punctuated the words “Inuzuka blood” with an eye roll. 

“Limiting who knows about clan jutsus is a safety precaution. The more people who know, the greater the chances of someone figuring out a counter,” Kurenai interjected. Last thing she needed were a bunch of angry clan heads on her ass about letting the kids spill their guts.

Kiba groaned. “Yeah, but nothing should be so secret that it gets forgotten. Like we know there used to be a method letting bonded hounds use their partner’s jutsus. We have stories about it, but no one remembers how to do it. We lost most of a generation on the frontlines of the first great war and at that point our clan’s traditions were largely oral so our techniques and history died with them.”

“The Hyuga clan has a library of scrolls that can only be ready using the byakugan. They were first drafted by the clan elders after the first great war,” Hinata added. “Was the Uchiha clan mostly oral?” 

Sasuke hesitated and then shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. My dad taught me the fireball jutsu and I didn’t have the sharingan until after… so maybe it was just passed from older clan members to the younger.” Sasuke didn’t remember Itachi without the sharingan. He did remember him training with Shisui in pretty much every spare hour, so maybe the clan had been oral. _Maybe Kakashi will know_ , Sasuke thought, trying to ignore the obvious solution. He hadn’t been back to the Uchiha compound since Itachi walked him to school. There could be a whole library of scrolls tucked somewhere and he wouldn’t know it.

“Hey, Hina, could you teach Sasuke some Hyuga fighting things? Like not anything secret secret, but are your guys’ eyes similar enough?” Kiba asked.

Hinata frowned. “I don’t know, “ she looked at Sasuke with a calculating stare, “what did you see when you looked at the byakugan with the sharingan?”

“Just chakra glow, like I do with other jutsus.”

Hinata shook her head. “If the sharingan and the byakugan really descended from the same kekkei genkai, it must have been a really long time ago. They aren’t anything alike as far as I can tell.”

Sasuke tried not to look disappointed. 

Kurenai eventually prodded the kids back to their feet and they continued towards Grass.

\---

“Will you spar with me?”

Sasuke looked up from his dinner. 

Hinata was looking everywhere but his face and shifting from foot to foot in uncertainty. 

Sasuke glanced past Hinata to where Kurenai was sipping some tea and leaning against a tree trunk. 

Kurenai nodded. They were still well inside Fire borders and Hinata’s fighting style wasn’t loud or destructive like Kiba’s. There was no reason she and Sasuke couldn’t spar.

“Sure,” Sasuke climbed to his feet and followed Hinata away from the campfire and into the meadow. 

Sasuke stretched quickly, working the travel kinks out of his muscles. He and Hinata had sparred a few times in the academy. She was a solid taijutsuist and had left Sasuke with a healthy respect for the Hyuga’s gentle fist fighting style. The only reason she hadn’t been ranked higher in the class was her timid nature. She never made the first move and never pressed the advantage when she had it.

Sasuke smiled and stepped into a fighting stance. 

Hinata nodded and matched Sasuke’s stance. Her eyes sharpened as she activated her byakugan.

Sasuke’s sharingan flared to life in response, more on instinct than on command.

Hinata made the first move. She lunged to close the gap between them and chakra glowed around her fingers.

Sasuke danced away from the strike. Blocking would sting as much as getting hit. _She’s gotten better_. 

Hinata saw a flicker of surprise cross Sasuke’s face and her grin widened.

Sasuke ducked Hinata’s next punch and tried to kick her in the ribs. His foot connected, but so did her next open handed strike.

Hinata’s hand just grazed Sasuke’s thigh, but it felt like he’d been stomped.

Both of them staggered back.

The fight was just starting, but they were both breathing hard. “You’ve improved a lot!” Sasuke admitted. He grinned at Hinata and his teeth flashed white in the gathering twilight.

Hinata smiled back, all teeth and too wide eyes. It was the sort of look that made civilians uneasy, predator and confident. “Thanks.”

They closed again, twisting around each other, only inches between them.

Sasuke was faster and the sharingan let him take full advantage of that. Without the physical edge and the opportunity to use it, the match would have quickly turned in Hinata’s favor. 

Sasuke couldn’t block. His leg throbbed where Hinata had touched him. It threatened to give out on him and that was just from a glancing blow.

Sasuke had to dodge. 

Hinata didn’t let Sasuke put any distance between them. Any hit she could land was a victory. Plus, the distance limited Sasuke to hand strikes. 

With a growl, Sasuke grew a kunai. WIth a blade in his hand, the fight evened out. Hinata couldn’t use her gentle fist style while wielding a kunai, so she was forced to dodge Sasuke’s strikes and slashes the same way he was forced to dodge every spearfinger and palm strike she threw at him.

Kiba settled next to Kurenai, Akamaru crawled into Kiba’s lap, and the 3 of them watched. “It’s like they’re dancing,” Kiba murmured. 

“They’re both very technical fighters. Sasuke’s feathers get ruffled easier than Hinata’s. She could use that,” Kurenai said. 

Kiba snorted. “I’m the team loud mouth, not Hinata. I don’t think she even knows how to trash talk.”

Kurenai punched Kiba’s shoulder lightly. “Neither do you.”

“Kitty litter is a perfectly respectable insult in my family,” he huffed.

Kurenai just shoot her head and kept her eyes on the sparring. “This is the sort of match everyone’s going to be expecting out of the chuunin exams.”

“You think we’re ready?” Kiba asked.

Kurenai nodded. “I do.”

“I want to sparr Sasuke tomorrow.”

“You’ll need to wait until we’re done with the mission and probably back in the village. You and Akamaru do too much property damage for any fun matches outside of a designated space.”

Kiba whined.

Sweat ran down Sauske’s forehead and stung his eyes, but he was an opening.

Hinata pulled her arm back and he lunged.

Sasuke froze with his kunai at Hinata’s throat.

Kurenai laughed and the sound carried across the meadow.

Sasuke looked down and saw Hinata’s open palm hovering just over his heart. 

“Stalemate?” Hinata suggested. She was breathing hard and Sasuke could see the chakra glow around her eyes flickering. He wasn’t in much better shape.

Sasuke nodded and stepped back before tucking away his kunai. “That was fun,” he smiled despite the way his body ached. He’d gotten used to sparring Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. The challenge of fighting someone new was invigorating. _This is how I get stronger_ , Sasuke realized. _Maybe the chuunin exam is going to be as fun as Naruto thinks it will._

“Any tips?” Hinata yelled across the meadow to Kurenai. 

“Be meaner!” Kiba yelled back. 

Hinata shook her head and the both of them headed back towards the campfire.

  
  


“Nice work,” Kurenai said when the kids were close. “Sasuke, don’t let people see when you’re frustrated. It gives them an edge. Hinata, with the time we have left before the exam, I think you’ll get the most out of your time by focussing on speed and agility.”

Both kids nodded dutifully. 

“Again, it was an excellent match. The village is going to be in good hands if the genin I’ve seen so far are representative of the whole.”

Hinata blushed and ducked her head.

Sasuke nodded his thanks.

“Why don’t the 2 of you clean up and then we call it a night? We should hit the border tomorrow morning. The anbu at the border have a scent sample waiting for us and we’ll be able to get this mission started.”

Kiba whooped and the other 2 genin nodded. Hinata was smiling again, looking a bit like an owl about to go in for the kill. Sasuke smirked and his eyes flicked like fire.

\---

Hinata and Sasuke picked their way through the gathering gloom to the nearby stream.

Hinata found a pool half hidden by bushes and started to tug off her outer shirt without hesitation.

Sasuke quickly turned his back and wandered further downstream where a line of tall grass offered a bit of privacy before stripping down to his small clothes and wading in.

The water was freezing and inky dark with the sun down.

Sasuke scrubbed the sweat off his limbs as quickly as he could. 

“Thanks for sparring with me,” Hinata’s voice was barely audible above the babble of the stream.

“No, thank you. I’m excited to be on this mission with you,” Sasuke called back. He climbed out of the stream and tugged his clothes back on while he was still wet.

Hinata was sitting on a rock just up the bank with her back turned.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I needed to know if I could keep up with you,” Hinata said.

Sasuke snorted and sat down beside Hinata. “You definitely can.”

Hinata fiddled with her hair and the 2 sat in silence for a minute. “I’m not a genius,” Hinata said it without any emotion and Sasuke hated that.

Hinata noticed the way Sasuke stiffened beside her. “It’s okay. That’s not a bad thing. Not everyone can be born a genius ninja,” Hinata soothed. “It took me a long time to come to that conclusion and start really improving. Everyone used to expect me to be a natural, because I’m the first born of the main house. When they found out I wasn’t…” Hinata hesitated, trying to come up with the right word, “when they found out I wasn’t special, they expected me to fail. It’s heavy, you know, all those expectations. Everyone always watching you.”

“I know what you mean,” Sasuke murmured. “Kakashi calls it the weight of a name.”

“He seems like a good dad.”

“He is. I got lucky. I’ve had 2 families love me.”

Hinata hummed softly. 

“Talent isn’t everything,” Sasuek said after a minute. “Practice and determination will get you just as far, if not further.” He thought of Sakura--the daughter of civilians, who showed up to the academy in a frilly dress, and was now someone Sasuke trusted with his life. He thought of Naruto who learned by banging his head into problems until they either gave up or he figured them out. Naruto was growing into a force of nature on grit alone.

“I know,” Hinata said. “I figured that out watching everyone else struggle and then succeed anyway.”

Sasuke grinned. He knew Hinata had been watching. 

“I hope I get to fight you in the exams,” Hinata said. 

“It’d be a good match. Sharingan vs byakugan would get everyone talking.”

“Next time, I’m going to win,” Hinata warned

“I won’t go easy on you.”

“I’d be mad if you did.” 

Sasuke took a deep breath and heaved his sore body upright. “We should probably head back.”

Hinata didn’t move. “Do you think it’s possible to shed the weight of a name?”

Sasuke frowned. “I think it’s possible to make your own name and to change what a name means. At least I hope that’s the case.”

Hinata stood and met Sasuke’s dark stare with her eerie silver one. “Good,” she said it like a promise.

The 2 of them walked back to camp side by side. 

“I’m going to be so stiff tomorrow,” Sasuke muttered.

Hinata snickered. “Sorry.”

“You don’t sound sorry,” Sasuke teased.

“It’s your own fault for having very large and punchable blood vessels,” Hinata fired back.

Sasuke frowned. “You can see that. I thought you just saw chakra networks.”

Hinata grinned and in a singsong voice declared, “I can see all of your insides and they are very squishy.”

Sasuke jokingly shuffled a little further from Hinata.

Hinata just laughed.

\---

It seemed like sparring officially cured Sasuke of his outsider status. He woke up to Akamaru sprawled over his feet. The dog had abandoned Kiba’s sleeping bag when the Inuzuka started thrashing around in the middle of the night.

Hinata hummed while she packed up her sleeping bag and Kiba dozed off on Sasuke’s shoulder while they boiled water for breakfast.

Sasuke was as sore as he’d expected to be and he did his best to shift and stretch without jostling Kiba.

“What’s your bruise look like?” Hinata asked.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

“Just show her the bruise, man,” Kiba grumbled. 

Sasuke glanced sideways and fought the urge to shove Kiba over.

Hinata looked at sasuke expectantly.

Sasuke mentally shrugged and tugged up the hem of his shorts to reveal a lopsided purple splotch bigger than his hand.

Hinata narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. “Looks kind of like a spearhead.”

Kiba cracked an eye. “Looks like the third hokage’s pointy chin,” he mumbled and closed his eye.

“Looks like a folded up wind shuriken,” Sasuke said.

Hinata grinned. 

“I think i like the hokage’s pointy chin best,” Kurenai said. “I’ll grab you a healing scroll. That’s got to be one of the bigger bruises I’ve seen.”

Sasuke nodded his thanks.

Kiba started snoring. 

“If he drools, I’m dropping him,” Sasuke declared.

Kurenai handed Sasuke a scroll with a minor healing jutsu sealed inside. “Usually Shino’s our designated bumps and bruises man. I picked up a couple of these since we’re flying without any sort of a medic.”

“Shino knows medical ninjutsu?” Sasuke asked.

Kurenai made a noncommittal noise.

“It’s the bugs,” Kiba grumbled. “Love Shino, but the bugs don’t get less creepy.”

“I think they’re kind of cute,” Hinata argued. “And they're really helpful. Some of them have a numbing agent in their venom and if they drink the blood from a bruise it’s not as stiff and sore afterwards,” she explained.

Sasuke paled.

“Welcome to team 8, man. Shino’s full of bugs, Hinata can see your guts, Kurenai-sensei can make _you_ see your guts, and Akamaru’s definitely the brains of the operation,” Kiba mumbled. 

“Feels just like home,” Sasuke said with a lopsided grin.

\---

The fact that it was Kiba who took the scrap of bloody cloth from the border guards and took a big whiff of it made Sasuke do a double take. 

“What?” Kiba glared. “My nose is as good as Akamaru’s and I don’t get distracted by squirrels.”

Akamaru whined and ducked his head. 

“I know buddy, but it’s going to take a while for either of us to live that one down,” Kiba sighed. “Until then, I sniff the rags and you get to focus on biting ankles.”

The dog’s ears perked up at that.

Kiba stuffed the scent sample in his pocket, shifted to face the wind, and took a deep breath.

A grin spread across the Inuzuka’s face, showing off his too large incisors and generally not-human teeth.

“Oh it’s on guys,” Kiba growled.

Team 8 crossed the border into Grass in a tight formation. Fun, games, and training were over. It was time to go hunting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working to flesh out Team 8 and clan dynamics a bit more.


	12. Chapter 12

Three days after Sasuke had left the village with Kurenai’s team, Kakashi looked down at his 2 remaining students and sighed. 

Both kids were uncharacteristically quiet.

Naruto was sprawled in the grass watching the clouds. 

Sakura was at least putting on a show of stretching, but it was obvious her head was elsewhere. She’s been doing a butterfly stretch for almost 5 minutes. 

“Alright,” Kakashi clapped his hands, “I know it’s weird to be down a member, but Sasuke’s off training, so you owe him to be doing the same. The chuunin exams will test you both individually and together. None of you get to be the weak link if any of you want to pass.”

Naruto jumped to his feet and nodded sharply, bristling at the insinuation.

Sakura nodded, but her eyes flickered down instead of rising to meet the challenge in Kakashi’s stare. 

Kakashi didn’t like that. Really he didn’t like either of their responses. They both took it personally and while overconfidence was the worst case scenario, in Kakashi’s mind, under confidence was a close second and just as likely to get someone killed.

“The next couple days of training are going to be a bit different than normal. My goal is to identify your individual strengths and weaknesses, so that future training can be adjusted accordingly. More importantly though, I want you to know exactly what you’re capable of. Self-awareness helps keep you from getting in over your head and it keeps from hesitating.”

Sakura climbed to her feet and stood beside Naruto. They both nodded.

\---

Kakashi watched Naruto and Sakura race through the side-by-side obstacle course set up on Training Area 8. Three quarters of the way through, they were more evenly matched than he expected.

Naruto had started off with a substantial lead. He had an advantage in raw power and speed. 

About halfway through the almost mile long course, Sakura started making up ground and it wasn’t just because Naruto was starting to slow down.

Sakura approached each obstacle with a textbook perfect response. She picked the best route up the rock wall and made up ground on the ropes course with each perfectly timed jump.

Naruto’s raw power approach was only good until his body started to fatigue.

Kakashi expected them to finish side by side, but with a quarter of the course left Sakura was on Naruto’s heels.

Kakashi pushed his forehead protector up and let the sharingan sharpen his vision. 

Naruto’s face was twisted into a stubborn grimace and Kakashi could see the kid’s arms trembling as he reached for the next monkey bar.

Sakura’s eyes almost looked unfocused. She hit the monkey bars a second after Naruto and instead of grabbing the closest bar, she hurled herself into space and managed to snag the third bar. 

_ Reckless, _ Kakashi thought. If it weren’t for the chakra she’d pulled to her fingers, the momentum of the jump would have ripped the bar out of her grasp. As it was, her grip was bad, but rather than try to fix it Sakura lunged for the next bar. She was side-by-side with Naruto.

Naruto dropped into the wooden platform. His knees bent to cushion the landing and in the fraction of a second that it took for him to straighten up and take a step, he heard Sakura hit her side of the platform and the unsteady thump of her feet as she staggered forward from a poor landing.

Naruto growled and lunged forward. 

The last obstacle was a rope bridge, unstable and prone to wild swinging or rolling. There were no handrails.

Naruto hit his bridge on all fours, with chakra in his hands and feet. He loped across like one of Kakashi’s hounds. It was instinctive.

Sakura could feel Naruto’s chakra shifting and wild just feet to her left and a thrill ran down her spine. Naruto was throwing everything he had at this, at her. 

Sakura grinned and forced her screaming legs to move a hair faster. 

There were a couple different approaches to these sort of rope bridges. The academy taught 2. Naruto’s instinctive decision to lower his center of gravity and distribute his movements was one. Fast, light steps, in the dead center was the second. 

On occasion, Kakashi had seen a third method used successfully. A reckless charge could make up lost time, but only if paired with excellent chakra control and near instantaneous adjustments for the bridge’s wild swinging. It was like water walking across waves.

Sakura didn’t hesitate at the bridge. She didn’t line up with the center or crouch down. Sakura could feel Naruto beside her, hear him snarling to himself.

Sakura’s right foot hit the right side of the bridge and the whole thing swung sharply to the right. A pulse of chakra from Sakura’s right foot kept her from following the momentum and flying off the bridge. It also redirected her energy so that her left foot came down faster.

Sakura felt like she was flying blind. Every step came faster than the one before it as her momentum built. Her eyes were fixed on the final platform and her mind had only one thought in it.  _ Stronger. Stronger. Stronger. _

Sakura refused to be the weak link. She’d watched Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry for years as a third-wheel, hovering on the periphery. Today it was just her and Naruto and she was going to earn the same sort of fire from him that he always gave Sasuke.

One last step and the board under Sakura’s foot shattered with the force of the impact. She stumbled and landed on the platform.

Kakashi shook his head and shuushined to the final platform. Even with the sharingan, he wasn’t sure which kid made the platform first.

Kakashi found both his kids sprawled on the wooden planks, breathing hard. 

There was more Fox in Naruto’s chakra than Kakashi liked and Sakura was laughing in between gulps of air.

Kakashi sighed and nudged first Naruto and then Sakura with his foot. “This wasn’t really supposed to be a competition.”

Naruto either growled softly or grumbled something unintelligible, Kakashi wasn’t sure which.

Sakura snorted, trying to both laugh and breathe at the same time.

That started Naruto laughing and Kakashi just groaned. 

The obstacle course set the tone for the day. The kids were competitive to the point that Kakashi didn’t dare cover his sharingan for fear he wouldn’t intervene in time without it. Neither kid was pulling their blows while sparring.

As Naruto and Sakura clashed in a flurry of kicks and punches. Through the blur of long, pink hair in motion, Kakashi caught a flash of white teeth barred in a feral snarl. He heard the creak of bone flexing to the edge of breaking as Sakura’s spinning sidekick connected with Naruto’s ribs and knocked the blond back.

Naruto sucked in a sharp breath and hurled himself at Sakura.

They fell on the ground and grapled for control. 

Sakura yanked one arm free from Naruto’s hold and thew a spear finger at his throat.

Naruto gagged and his grip slipped. 

Sakura rolled out of Naruto’s gasp and hopped to her feet. It was a textbook perfect escape.

Kakashi grinned under his mask. He didn’t know what exactly brought out this change in Sakura, but he liked it. Just the right amount of control, technique, and pure guts. 

Sakura shifted her weight to go on the offensive, but staggered slightly as her right knee threatened to give out.

Naruto lunged again, from his hands and knees.    
  


This time, when they fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, Sakura didn’t have the strength to wrench an arm or leg free.

Naruto pinned Sakura to the ground. “Yield,” he hissed.

Sakura shook her head and kept struggling.

“YIELD!” Naruto ordered. His grip on Sakura’s wrists was just across the line into painful.

Sakura shook her head and screwed her eyes shut, trying to keep the tears blurring Naruto’s face from slipping out. She could feel the bones in her wrists grinding together.

“Enough.” Kakashi punctuated the order by tugging on the back of Naruto’s shirt.

Naruto let go immediately and scrambled off Sakura.

It took another second for Naruto to register the tears running down Sakura’s cheeks.

Naruto’s eyes widened and a look of horror flashed across his face. “I’m sorry,” he gasped. “I… I didn’t mean to.”

Kakashi shook his head and crouched down beside Sakura. “You didn’t hurt her,” he said.

Sakura just squeezed her eyes shut tighter. It didn’t stop a fresh wave of tears from rolling down her cheeks.

“Sakura,” Kakashi called softly. “I need you to talk to me.”

Sakura shook her head.

“Go grab some water and stretch for a bit,” Kakashi ordered in Naruto’s direction.

The blond climbed to his feet and did as he was told with several backwards glances and hesitant steps. 

Kakashi sat down in the grass beside Sakura’s head. “Come on,” Kakashi urged gently. “What happened?”

“I couldn’t break his hold,” Sakura’s voice was raw. “I’m sorry.”

Kakashi snorted. “Don’t apologize for doing your best. The point was to see where your limits are and not only did you find yours, you proved that it was a lot further along than I’ve been giving you credit for.” Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. “If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me. I’ve been underestimating you.”

Sakura tried to answer, but nothing came out. She closed her mouth, took a shuddering breath, and tried again. “I’m the weak link,” she whispered.

Kakashi blinked and then narrowed his eyes. “No.” His tone left no room for argument.

Sakura’s eyes opened and she blinked the tears out of them.

“I’m going to tell you a secret,” Kakashi said. “I trust you’ll know how to use it when the time comes.”

Sakura nodded.

“There’s no weak link on this team. As individuals, you all have your strengths and weaknesses, but as a team, you compensate for each other. Naruto and Sasuke won’t make it through the chuunin exam without you and you won’t make it without them. This team wasn’t thrown together, it was carefully crafted.”

“I’m not like them,” Sakura mumbled.

“Of course not. No one is. That doesn’t mean you aren’t just as good of a shinobi.”

Sakura raised an eyebrow and her expression clearly said, “Oh yeah?”

Kakashi tried to figure out how to explain it. “Every ability you master is like another kunai in your pouch,” he started. “Some people fill their pouch with kekkei genkai or clan justus, others hone their taijutsu skills or study strategies and tactics or master the art of blending in. All of those options have resulted in excellent jounin.”

Sakura sighed. 

Kakashi nudged the girl’s shoulder. “You’ve got chakra control, analytical thinking, and the academy’s entire curriculum in your pouch. Naruto’s got a chakra demon and the stubbornness to fight god. Sasuke has the sharingan, good reflexes, and strong instincts. Of the 3 of you, you arguably have the most raw material to work with when it comes to choosing what else you want in your arsenal.” 

Sakura nodded and pushed herself into a sitting position. She stared back into Kakashi’s mismatched eyes. “Do you really think being clever is enough?”

Kakashi grinned. “You’re more than clever, Sakura, but yes.”

Sakura held Kakashi’s gaze for another heart beat and then nodded. She scrubbed the tears from her cheeks and stood. 

Kakashi watched Sakura square her shoulders and take a deep breath. Just like that, she was back to the kunoichi Kakashi just watched put Naruto through his paces. 

“I won’t let you down, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura promised.

“Go grab some water and stretch with Naruto. We’re going to play some strategy games next and I don’t need the 2 of you cramping up.”

Sakura hobbled over to the fence where Naruto was stretching and grabbed her water bottle.

Kakashi watched her go with a smile. 

Few people accused Naruto of being Kakashi’s min-me. The blond was too much of a people person and too outspoken. Only those who knew Kakashi well could see and hear his influence behind Naruto’s compassion and loyalty. 

Sasuke, on the other hand, was often compared to Kakashi. Tragic, geniuses with the same kekkei genkai-- the comparison was easy to make. Those who’d know Kakahsi as a kid, pointed out that they shared the same outward pride and occasional arrogance. 

No one had ever compared Sakura to Kakashi and that always disappointed him. Of the 3, he saw himself most in her. He hadn’t been born with a kekkei genkai or into a clan with their own secret techniques. He’d been a clever kid with good chakra control. He’d been a by the book tactician and made his way from genin to chuunin and then to jounin by outsmarting his opponents, playing on the strengths of his teammates, and taking advantage of everyone stupid enough to underestimate him. People saw the crest on Obito’s back and Kakashi slit their throat while they worried over facing an Uchiha.

_ You won’t let me down, _ Kakashi thought as he stood up. 

\---

Naruto stretched in the evening sun. He was sore and tired and his brain felt a bit fried. Beside him, Sakura was limping slightly, but smiling.

Kakashi’d promised them customized training plans starting tomorrow and Naruto figured he was looking at more book work than he’d ever planned on doing after graduation. 

Sakura knew she’d be working on physical conditioning. Running with Pakkun, lifting weights, and that sort of thing. She was looking forward to being able to get lost in the exertion.

Kakashi surveyed his kids. They’d done good. Today had gone a long way towards easing the knot in his chest that seemed to tighten everytime someone mentioned the impending chuunin exams.

“I wonder what Sasuke’s doing,” Naruto sighed. “I bet we worked harder than he did today.”

Sakura just rolled her eyes.

“They probably just made it to Grass Country,” Kakashi said. “I figure we’ve got another 5 or 6 days before they’re back.”

Naruto groaned. That meant 5 or 6 more days of whatever horror Kakashi could concoct. “I wonder what Shino’s up to that he had to miss the mission.”

\---

A few days earlier…

Dappled sunlight painted the glen golden in the evening light. The trees here grew tall and wide, centuries older than the village to their south. White mushrooms grew up one trunk, like a miniature staircase, and nestled between the tangled roots of another tree an orchid, pale green and sprinkled with purple spots, bloomed. 

This place always took Shino’s breath away. 

Shino stepped carefully. As idyllic as the forest was, as soft as the grass of the glen looked in the warm light before sunset, a practiced observer would realize something was off immediately. No birds flitted through the branches overhead. No deer grazed in the meadow. 

Shino picked his way from one half buried stepping stone to the next. The seals carved into the top of each flat stone were the only guarantee of safe passage through these glades and glens.

Just off the path and half hidden in the leaf litter, Shino spotted a narrow bone, picked clean but not yet yellow with age.

This was the heart of the Aburame Clan’s land. To step off the path was to put oneself on the menu, and while Shino and his insects could defend themselves, he didn’t want to waste the energy tonight.

On the edge of the forest, Shino paused and stared into the glen.

Half lost in the tall grass and wildflowers was a teenager with short cropped black hair. He was shirtless, but didn’t look it from a distance. His skin was stained the color of 2 day old bruises. The teen had his back to Shino and it gave Shino a rare chance to observe his brother at peace.

Torune Aburame was 19. He was of average height and well muscled. He carried himself like a seasoned shinobi-- square shoulders, raised chin, power and confidence evident in his every movement. 

With no eyes on him, and safely out of reach of 90 percent of humanity, Torune’s shoulders were relaxed. His face was tilted up, like he was trying to catch the last of the day’s light and soak up its warmth.

“May I join you?” Shino asked. His voice carried on the still air. He saw Torune tense, the muscles across his back jumping as he reached for his sword, discarded in the grass.

In the heartbeat it took for Torune to place Shino’s voice, he’d armed himself and turned to defend himself.

Shino smiled slightly and fought to keep his bugs beneath his skin. They sensed a threat.

Torune lowered his sword and settled back in the grass. 

It was as much of an invitation as Shino was going to get.

Shino stepped off the stones and into the clearing. He picked his way to the center and settled on his knees beside Torune.

The older shinobi had returned to a meditative position, but his shoulders remained tense and his fingers curled in the fabric across his thighs. 

Shino narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Torune shamelessly. It was rare that his brother let anyone this close.

Shino could see the scars that crisscrossed Torune’s chest and arms-- thin lines from shallow cuts, earned while learning to wield a blade. A punchered ridge of skin like a small mountain range on his right pectoral was the remnants of a stab that would have been lethal had it been on Torune’s left. 

For an anbu, Torune didn’t have many scars.  _ Few ever got close enough to hurt him _ , Shino thought. It was oddly comforting. 

From scars, Shino shifted his focus to the purple stain that spread from Torune’s shoulders, across his back, and down his arms before fading on his arms. The stain was from the insects that lived beneath Torune’s skin and the lethal poison they excreted. Torune’s fingers were gray and tainted, but not lethally so--unless he wanted them to be. 

Shino’s eyes flickered from his brother’s hands,  _ Were they always so gray? _ , to his face.

Tornune’s eyes were closed and his lips were pressed into a thin line. Like his hands, his face was painted ashen by the excess poison just beneath his skin. Despite it, Shino thought Torune looked good.

Torune had appeared in the clan compound 6 years earlier. No one had realized who the anbu in the monkey mask was or had time to worry about him in that moment. 

Shino didn’t remember Torune’s arrival. He did remember the barrier rising over the village in a shimmering, shifting veil. He remembered the emergency sirens. He remembered the way his insects scittered under his skin, fighting for control of his body.  _ Danger! Hide! Forest! Burrow under log! _

Father had scooped him up and hid him with the other Aburame children. 

Only when the barrier came down and Shibi came home, pale and horrified, did he notice the anbu still lingering on his front porch.

“Tell your supervisor that I appreciate you being here,” Shibi told the anbu as he moved to step around the masked shinobi and summon the clan. 

The anbu didn’t say anything, but Shibi’s skin prickled. The anbu’s chakra was familiar, but different, changed, and he couldn’t place it.

“Danzou Shimaru’s dead. I didn’t know where else to go.”

Shibi may not have recognized his adopted son’s chakra, but he recognized his voice.

After 3 years in Root, Torune had been unrecognizable. Reckless usage had caused his insects to multiply out of control. Every inch of his skin was stained purple and he wore a heavy neoprene suit to stop the poison from seeping out of his skin and killing everyone around him. 

The poison made Torune’s skin delicate and the suit left raw sores that no one in Root could treat for fear of the poison. 

Torune was skinny and painfully underweight for a 13 year old. His cheekbones were too prominent, his hair was dull, and he looked at the world with passive, empty eyes. 

After that brief explanation of his presence, Torune didn’t talk for weeks. 

It took months of careful training under Shibi for Torune to regain any control of his insects. It took 2 years for him to no longer need any sort of physical barrier over his whole body to prevent accidents. 

The emotional damage took longer to heal. It took another year for him to trade the fabric mask that hid all but his mouth for the dark glasses that the rest of the Aburame wore. Torune still rarely talked. As confident as he was behind a porcelain mask, he was just as meek without it. Crowded spaces and prying eyes set him on edge.

“I’m okay.” Torune’s voice, soft and low, startled Shino out of his memories.

“I know,” Shino replied. 

“But you were worrying. Your kikaichuu were agitated.”

“They’re just excited.”

Torune raised an eyebrow at that.

  
“Father said I’m ready to take a second species,” Shino explained.

A faint smile appeared on Torune’s lips. “Congratulations. When do the 2 of you leave?”

Shino fiddled with the sleeve of his jacket. “I didn’t ask Father to go with me.”

Torune frowned. Hosting a second species was a big deal for an Aburame. It indicated a high degree of control. It was also one of the major milestones in one’s life and as such had many traditions surrounding it. Perhaps the most significant of those traditions was that the journey and search for a new colony was undertaken with only a single mentor to guide the younger Aburame.

“I want you to go with me,” Shino said.

Torune cocked his head to the side and regarded Shino with a stare that gave nothing away. “I won’t be any use to you,” he said after a long minute. “Rinkaichuu are too aggressive to share a host when they’re the primary species. I’ve never taken a second.”

Shino nodded. “I know. I still want it to be you.”

Torune ducked his head. “I can’t really say no, can I?” There was no emotion in his voice.

Shino looked away. “You can say no.”

“When do we leave?”

Shino broke into a wide grin. “First thing in the morning.”

Tornune nodded.

They sat side by side until the sun slipped below the horizon and then they walked back to the clan compound together. 

With Torune, Shino didn’t worry about keeping to the path. Nothing here would pick a fight with Torune’s Rinkaichuu.

The Aburame Clan lived on the edge of the village in an eclectic collection of houses. 

Shino’s family lived in a boxy 2 story house with a wooden porch that wrapped around the front. 

His grandmother’s house was made of concrete and shaped like a giant mud dauber’s nest. Shino’s grandfather came up with the structure after 2 toddlers and their respective insects managed to demolish the wooden foundation of not 1, but 2 more traditional houses.

The rest of the clan’s homes were equally varied and modified to suit their inhabitants. Hives and nests hung from rafters. Wood was treated with chemicals to prevent rot and dissuade any snacking. Yards were full of varied plants and miniature habitats. The forest encroached on the clan compound and a couple houses were built around the tree trunks.

Shino knew he was biased, but he always thought the Aburame home was the prettiest part of the village. It had character and there were always flowers blooming.

A large, red butterfly drifted on the breeze. It’s wings caught the last of the sun and glowed like fire. Shino followed it with his eyes.

Shibi was helping his wife set the table when the boys reached home. 

Shino grinned at the bowl of sliced winter melon on the table. It was early in the season, but a shipment must have come in from a colder climate-- Maybe Stone Country.

Mari Aburame was a short woman and her round face was framed by dark curls that Shino would share if he ever grew his hair out.

When she stepped past Shino, towards the kitchen, he ducked slightly out of habit so she could ruffle his hair. “We made all your favorites,” Mari said with a grin.   
  


A look of panic flashed across Torune’s face, behind Shino.

Mari laughed. “Don’t worry I only let Shibi do the cutting. If the melon chunks are weird sizes, it’s his fault.”

Shino hid a snicker behind his hand while Shibi put his hands on his hips and pretended to look offended. 

“I do know how to use a knife,” Shibi called after his wife.

Mari just laughed from the kitchen.

Dinner at an Aburame house wasn’t for the faint of heart if you weren’t part of the clan.

Shino dished himself a plate of wild grass salad, winter melon, and grilled chicken. He also filled a plate with raw hamburger and sprinkled ground up chakra pills over the bloody meat.

Shibi did the same, but his second plate was a mix of different meats, vegetation, and semi-poisonous substances. The mixed diet tailored to the different species he hosted.

Torune’s Rinkaichuu were the cleanest eaters of the non-human family members. They dined on toxic mushrooms and chakra for the most part. They’d eat meat-- but only living meat, saturated with their poison and just enough life left to keep the chakra flowing through it-- and it was more of a luxury than a need. 

Mari frowned at the plate for Shino’s insects. “I think they need a second helping.”

Shino rolled his eyes. 

“They need spoiled. It’s not easy to go from being only children to having to share your parent and your toys,” Mari insisted.

“I’m not going to pick the bug version of Aunt Kimi,” Shino promised.

Shibi couldn’t swallow his bark of laughter and even Torune cracked a smile. 

Mari’s younger sister-- as Mari would describe her-- was eclectic and eccentric with a heart of gold, but she’d always been the spoiled baby of the family and it still showed 30 years later. Kimi didn’t shy away from that description. “I’m only spoiled because I had such a doting older sister!”

Kimi’d come to help after Shino was born and ended up something of a legend in the Aburame Clan. 

Shibi’d been assigned an away mission and Mari was on her own with a newborn and grieving 7 year old. It was a difficult situation without the complications of the Aburame’s clan jutsus.

Torune just wanted to be held and cuddled, but cuddling Torune was best done using both hands and thick blanket. 

Shino was a fussy baby who didn’t like to be set down and had no control over the small colony of bitey insects in his body.

Mari had been prepared for the realities of raising Aburame children before she married into the clan. 

Kimi, a painter for the daimyo’s court, had yet to have dinner at the Aburame’s house. On previous, brief, trips to Konoha, she’d stayed at a hotel and Mari had used it as an excuse for the family to eat out at nice restaurants. Mari regretted letting her sister off that easy when Kimi insisted on coming to help.

Mari had tried to dissuade her sister from coming until Shino was at least a couple months old and less prone to leaving your arms covered in itchy bites after cuddling. “The inlaws are taking good care of us and the clan thing is a little odd right now,” Mari told her sister.

Kimi was hearing none of it. “I have 2 new nephews and I will be spoiling them.” She came dressed in a brightly colored skirt and dangling gold earrings. Her bag was full of all sorts of toys and treats from the capital city. She had all sorts of plans-- walks in the rose garden with Torune, singing lullabies to Shino, cooking all sorts of fancy food for her sister, and a portrait of the little family being only the start.

Torune had fallen in love with Kimi immediately and trailed after her like a shadow. Unfortunately Kimi was allergic to the Rinkaichuu’s poison. Even exerting his best control, at that age, Torune gave off little waves of poisonous gas. It wasn’t enough to affect most people, but it gave Kimi a nasty rash. She still insisted on cuddling him until her eyes started swelling shut and Mari made her swap kids.

Baby Shino, on the other hand, instantly hated Kimi. Maybe it was because she looked like Mom, but wasn’t Mom. Maybe his insects didn’t like the taste of her chakra. Either way, he screamed the entire time she held him and left her with almost as many bug bites as she had hives.

And that was all before dinner the first night.

When the inlaws tossed a whole, raw chicken on the table and let their bugs go to town. Kimi fainted. 

That was baby Shino’s first laugh.

Somehow, Kimi managed to stay for 2 weeks and didn’t complain outside of one minor mental breakdown. Incidentally, Kimi and her husband never did have kids. “Sorry, Mari, I don’t think I’ll be giving the boys any cousins. I think I’m a little too selfish. As much as I love your kids, I don’t want to give up my whole way of life to have my own.” 

Kimi also never stayed in the Aburame compound again on her subsequent visits, but she’d certainly earned the clan’s respect and both boys had fond memories of their Aunt’s visits. 

Mari nudged her husband in the ribs with an elbow. “You could do worse than Aunt Kimi, but you definitely need to spoil these little guys,” she said as she dumped another glob of hamburger on Shino’s bugs’ plate.

“And stock up on sweets,” Torune added. It was one of the things he remembered most from those early visits. Kimi always had candy with her. She’d bring fancy chocolates and let the boys eat them until they were too hyper to sit still and she kept hard candy in her pockets. She’d always sneak some to Torune under the dinner table when Mari said he needed to finish his vegetables before ordering dessert. 

Torune figured he got his snack hoarding habit from Aunt Kimi. It had driven Danzou nuts, mostly because Danzou couldn’t search Torune for smuggled food the way he could search the other Root kids.

After dinner, Torune helped Mari clear the table and start the dishes while Shibi pulled Shino out onto the porch to talk.

Night had fallen on the valley.

Fireflies danced in the moonlight above bioluminescent mushrooms and glowing grubs made their way to the surface to drink in the starlight.

Shibi sat on the edge of the porch and Shino did the same.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Shibi said softly. 

Shino nodded. He figured his father knew. There was only one practical reason for Shino to choose to take Torune instead of his father and as big as Shino’s heart was, he was still a relatively practical individual. 

Shibi put a hand on Shino’s shoulder. “Taking a species like the Rinkaichuu is a challenge in a lot of different ways. It will change your life and how you interact with others.”

Shino stared down at his hands. 

“I’m not trying to dissuade you. I just want to make sure you’ve thought the whole thing through,” Shibi said gently. “I’ll do everything I can to help and support you, no matter what you choose.”

“I’m not going to take on the Rinkaichuu and there’s no guarantee we’ll find any insects compatible with their poison. I have a few ideas in mind and several backups that aren’t compatible, but will be useful,” Shino explained.

Shibi nodded. There was his Shino, practical and sweet. “I’m proud of you. You’ve trained really hard for this.”

Shino nodded and swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Are you upset that I’m taking Torune?” he asked in a small voice.

Shibi shifted his hand off of Shino’s shoulder and pulled his son into a side hug. “No. I’m so proud of you. I love how much you love your brother and I think this trip will be really good for both of you.”

Shino smiled and leaned against his dad.

“I am a little jealous that I don’t get to go bug hunting with the 2 of you, but I’ll just drag you both off on a camping trip some other time, like when you were little.” 

“Deal.”

\---

Shino and Torune left early in the morning. 

They set off straight across the Aburame lands rather than using the road through the village. 

“So where exactly are we going?” Torune asked an hour into the trip. They were moving at what he would consider a leisurely pace for a mission, but he wasn’t going to complain.

The forest was as pretty as ever shrouded in the morning fog and the flying leeches had returned to roost for the day. 

“Grass Country. East of Kusagakure,” Shino tossed Torune a grin over his high collar. “How do you feel about a bit of infiltration? We can always avoid the village and camp in the grasslands if you don’t think it’s a good idea to go near the village.”

Torune sighed. “Kusagakure’s a pretty small and isolated shinobi village. As long as we aren’t wearing our headbands and shouting from the rooftops about life in Konoha, we should be fine.”

Shino nodded. “I’ll refrain from shouting.”

“Worst case, we might need to make a quick exit.”

“I packed light.”

Torune nodded his approval. 

That night they camped halfway to the border with the Land of Grass. They set up tents and made a small fire. 

Shino set a pot on the fire to heat some canned stew for dinner and Torune collected enough wood to keep the fire burning through the coldest part of the night.

As the sun set, they both settled near the fire. Torune made a point of keeping a little more than an arm’s distance between them. He stared into the flickering flames and his lips quirked down into a small frown. 

Shino knew that look and scooped up a small branch from the kindling pile to poke his brother in the ribs with. 

“Rude,” Torune mumbled.

“You have your serious thinking face on,” Shino said and poked Torune’s cheek lightly with the tip of the branch to emphasize his point.

Torune couldn’t help but grin. “Should I be telling you ghost stories like when we’d have campouts in the backyard as kids?”

Shino set down the branch and settled on his sleeping bag. “Maybe.”

Torune glanced down at Shino and his eyes softened with fondness. 

“Or you could tell me what you’re worrying about?” Shino offered.

Torune sighed and stared up at the stars overhead. “I know you’re hoping to find something that will make you immune to the Rinkaichuu. I also know that all of the insects with that capability are as functionally dangerous as the Rinkaichuu.”

Shino didn’t bother to respond. He hadn’t exactly hidden his intentions.

“I don’t want you to do that,” Torune said. He didn’t look at Shino. “I especially don’t want you doing it for me.”

“It’s not your choice to make,” Shino said softly.

“I know and I hate that. I don’t want you to end up like me. That’s the stuff of my nightmares.”

Shino reached for the stick again, but Torune beat him to it.

Shino rolled his eyes as Torune tapped the top of his head. “You can’t protect me forever,” Shino pointed out.

“I can try.”

“You ever think that maybe I want to protect you too? That I want to be able to protect Mom and Dad and the rest of the clan? The rest of the village? The adults try to keep everything quiet, but I know tensions are rising.”

Torune nudged Shino’s shoulder. “How do you know that?”

“The house is old. You and Dad talk. My teammate is a main line Hyuga. She hears things too. My sensei doesn’t tell us anything outright, but the way she’d been pushing us says a lot. This chuunin exam was put together too fast. It’s been used to diffuse tension in the past and arguably delayed or prevented conflicts.”

Torune withdrew the stick and tapped it against his own knee. “Kids are smarter than people like to give you credit for,” he mumbled half to himself.

Shino sat up and motioned for the stick. 

Torune offered him one end, but didn’t let go. 

Shino grabbed the end and gently pushed back against Torune.

Torune returned the pressure. This had been their version of hugs when they were small.

“You’re plenty strong,” Torune promised. “And if trouble starts, you won’t be fighting alone.”

Shino nodded.

“I just… I just don’t want you to feel the way I do.”

Shino squeezed the stick tighter.

“I’m not good with words,” Torune mumbled. “But it’s lonely. To be with people who shy away from you and to be with people who don’t know so you have to shy away from them. It aches to not be able to touch people. The knowledge that I am a threat to everyone around me stops me from doing so many things. It eats at my mind and fuels my nightmares. There’s so many little costs and big ones too.”

Shino wanted to argue that he’d considered all of that, but he knew he’d need Torune’s help to ensure whatever insect he chose was really immune to Torune’s poison and for that he needed to convince his brother that this was a burden worth sharing. For that, Shino knew he needed to listen.

“I once lost a teammate because he took a kunai to the shoulder and on instinct he pulled it out. He was bleeding heavily and he couldn’t put enough pressure on the wound to stop it,” Torune paused and locked eyes with Shino, “He died because I couldn’t touch him. I tried and the bandages weren’t thick enough to protect him from my poison. I honestly don’t know if I killed him or if the bloodloss did. It was a toss up in terms of timing.”

Shino swallowed hard. He thought of Kiba, wild and reckless in his attacks. How many times had Shino been the one to patch up the Inuzuka? How many times had he helped carried Hinata home after she overtrained?

“And I know it sounds selfish, but the loss of positive physical contact is something you can’t even imagine.” 

Shino broke eye contact and stared down at his lap.

Torune pushed the stick into Shino’s grip until the younger Aburame pushed back. “I’m not saying this to make you feel bad.”

“I know,” Shino said. The firelight reflected in his glasses, but from the side, Torune could see it reflecting in Shino’s too bright eyes as well. 

“I just wish I could help you,” Shino said.

Torune pulled the stick out of Shino’s grip and bopped his little brother on the head with it. “You do. You help me all the time. You don’t let me become a mountain recluse. You remind me of all the good things in life and what I’m fighting for.”

Shino rubbed his head and sighed. “You know what I mean.”

Torune sighed. “I do and at the end of the day, the choice of your second is yours alone. I know you have the skill to manage whatever you choose. Dad and I will both be here to help.”

Shino nodded. 

“Just promise me you’ll think really carefully about it?” Torune asked. “I’m afraid it will be worse for you than it is for me. There’s a difference between never having had something and losing it.”

“I promise I’ll think about it.”

Torune nodded and shifted towards his tent. 

Shino shivered. The night felt colder now and the stars seemed a little more distant. The easy atmosphere from the morning’s walk was gone.

“No scary story?” Shino asked. His voice was a little thin and Torune recognized the attempt to ease the tension.

Torune snorted and crawled into his tent. He rearranged his sleeping bag so his head poked out of the door and motioned for Shino to do the same. 

“In the mountains of Iwa, there used to be a mining town. The miles were a natural marvel, carved with chakra and supported using earth manipulation jutsu. The tunnels twisted and hollowed out the whole mountain. They found gold, silver, and precious stones. For a time the town prospered and their wealth rivalled the Capital. But the people became greedy. When the mountain was little more than a hollow shell, they set their sights deeper and burrowed into the earth. Deep beneath the mountain they woke something…”

In the silence after Torune’s story, Shino frowned. “That almost sounds like they woke one of the tailed-beasts.”

Torune blinked in surprise. Shino’d only been a baby when the Fox nearly destroyed Konoha, but Torune had been old enough to remember. “I hadn’t thought about that before,” Torune said. “That would actually make sense. We know that the tailed-beasts sometimes go dormant when left outside a jinchuuriki. The 3 tails has supposedly been hibernating at the bottom of a lake in Kiri since the 3rd Mizukage’s death.”

“It’s crazy that the human body can contain that sort of power,” Shino mused.

“You’re friends with the Ninetail’s jinchuuriki, right?”

“Naruto’s one of my friends.”

Torune shifted and settled his chin on his arms so he could relax and still see Shino. “Tell me about him and your other friends.” There was something wistful in Torune’s voice. A life like Shino’s was never going to be his lot and he wasn’t sure he’d want it if he could have had it, but late at night under the stars he couldn’t help but wonder.

Shino smiled and launched into a story of their little gang during the academy days that rolled into a story about a training trip with Kurenai-sensei.

Shino talked until his eyes were too heavy and he dozed off mid sentence.

Torune smiled into the dark and curled deeper into his sleeping bag. 


	13. Chapter 13

Torune and Shino set out at first light. 

Gradually the trees thinned a breeze brushed their faces.

They talked little, but the silence was easy.

Occasionally, Shino pointed out some sort of beetle or other interesting invertebrate.

Late afternoon, the trees ran out and the 2 Aburame stood under the last of the branches on a small rise. Before them, a wide plain stretched onto the horizon. Waist high grass and scrub brush danced in the ever present wind.

Without a word, Shino reached up to undo his forehead protector and Torune did the same.

Then Torune looked at his younger brother and nodded for Shino to lead the way. 

Shino took a deep breath and stepped across the border. 

Shino’d been to Grass Country before, but he’d always entered on the main highway and with paperwork permitting his team to cross the border for a mission.

This was different. Technically it could be construed as an act of war if they were caught. 

_Bugs don’t have borders,_ Shino thought as he waded through the grass. _They’re smarter than us sometimes._

The sun was warm overhead, but the wind had a cold bite to it that made both Aburame pull their cloaks a bit tighter around them.

Shino had their route well charted. They’d be able to avoid roads, towns, and likely patrol routes until at least midday tomorrow. At that point, they’d be close to Kusa and need to join the main road through the country in order to use the bridges across the great ravines. Grass was infamous for the deep, narrow canyons that opened like hungry mouths in the grassland. Like the mountains that protected Konoha, the ravines made approaching Kusa a risky endeavor. 

As the sun set, the wind kicked up. They didn’t light a fire for fear of the sparks igniting the grassland.

Huddled in the openings of their tents, Torune and Shino passed packages of cold rations back and forth.

“So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Torune asked around a bite of instant mashed potatoes that were still half grainy powder-- cold water didn’t work quite right.

Shino swallowed a mouthful of cold, canned stew and grimaced. It smelled a little bit like the wet food Kiba sometimes packed for Akamaru. “We’ll run into one of the North-South through roads by noon. This time of year, traffic should be light, so we don’t have to worry about anyone questioning where we came from.”

Torune nodded. It was another month before the North-South Caravans would start their way back towards the sea.

“We’ll take the road north until it hits the main road to Kusa and Iwa. If anyone there asks, we’re farmers headed to Kusa to buy seed for the fall planting. Most of the South is made up of small subsistence farms, so it makes sense that we don’t have a cart.”

“A good cover story.”

“Another day of walking in the wind and we’ll look the part,” Shino brushed a hand through his hair and a cloud of dust surrounded him like a halo.

Torune snorted. “Our clothes don’t stand out too much when they’re travel dirty. Our shoes are a bit nicer than what a farmer would wear, but again a bit of dirt hides a lot.”

“We should be able to take the main road right into Kusa and get a room at one of the inns for our base of operations. We’ll make day trips to the different ravines. They have a variety of cave spiders whose venom supposedly has effects very similar to the Rinkaichuu’s poison. Not that anyone’s ever directly compared the chemical compounds.”

Torune’s smile faded. 

Shino scooted the can of cold stew towards his brother. “I haven’t made a decision yet.”

Torune nodded and grabbed his half of the ration. “I didn’t say anything.”

“But you made your anbu face.”

Torune just waved off Shino’s complaint. “You going to be the first Aburame to bond with spiders?”

Shino shook his head. “No, the cave spiders are just the bait.” He flashed Torune a wicked grin. “Their numbers are dropping to the point that they might soon become endangered. Something tiny is eating them.”

Torune whistled softly. Insects with that sort of poison had few predators. Anything stupid enough to eat a Rinkaichuu died shortly thereafter.

“If that doesn’t pan out, there’s a couple other species native to the ravines that I wouldn’t mind hosting,” Shino started naming bugs and counting them off on his hand, “A beetle that can bend light around it to disappear entirely and weighs less than a grain of rice, a kind of large moth that navigates using sonar and can sprinkle poisonous dust from its wings as a defensive mechanism, and a variety of mosquito whose venom puts victims in a dazed state where they are vulnerable to suggestion.”

“Fascinating,” Torune mumbled around a mouthful of ration. “Are they all unique species?”

Shino nodded. “They only live in the ravines between Kusa and Iwa and neither village has found a way to weaponize any of them. I mean they tried coating kunai with cave spider venom, but it loses its potency when exposed to air, so everyone around here seems to have just given up on the whole bug idea.”

“Foolish. I suppose their loss is our gain.”

“Even if they aren’t capable of being a hosted species, I think it would be valuable to bring some specimens home and try to establish a breeding colony,” Shino added. He patted his backpack on the ground beside him and Torune could hear the soft clink of specimen jars.

Torune just smiled. If anyone could coax an non-indigenous species with highly specific needs into thriving in captivity, it would be Shino. The kid had a way with bugs that left even the best of the Aburame clan jealous.

A small bug buzzed Torune’s head and then veered towards Shino. Shino held out his hand, giving the bug an easy landing in the wind.

“Anyone else foolish enough to be out in this wind?” Torune asked.

Shino shook his head. “No. Even the animals are bedded down. It looks like we might get some heavy gusts overnight.”

Torune climbed to his feet and out of the relative shelter of his tent with a sigh. “I’ll make sure the stakes are all in good.”

Shino nodded, but his eyes were still on the little beetle crawling across his palm. It made Torune smile despite a tug of jealousy in his heart.

When they were little, Shino used to tell stories about his bugs-- what they thought and how they felt-- and everyone chalked it up to childish imagination and imaginary friends. As Shino grew up, it became obvious that his connection with his insects ran deeper than most.

Torune often wondered if maybe he could talk to his Rinkaichuu the way Shino could to his kikaichuu, maybe he wouldn’t have the control issues that plagued his whole life.

The 2 Aburame fell asleep to the howling of the wind.

\---

The plan went off without a hitch. There was no traffic on the North-South road and little traffic on the main road.

When they arrived at the first bridge, Shino managed to keep himself from stopping to gawk. If they weren’t on the road, he was pretty sure he’d have walked right off the cliff. 

The ravine was deep with straight sides, like a gash in the earth, and with the tall grass along the edges it really was like the earth had opened its mouth to swallow unsuspecting travelers.

  
The plank bridge was sturdy, wider than expected, and recently maintained if the freshly painted lumber and unfrayed rope were anything to go by. From his research, Shino knew that generations ago, huge rock pylons were sunk into the ground to anchor the first bridge. Those same pylons remained undamaged through an endless stream of wars and skirmishes.

“Konoha burned this bridge in the last war,” Torune said softly. “It’s part of what made the Kanabi Bridge such a critical landmark.”

Shino nodded. He glanced down between the wood slats and shuddered. He wondered how many had fallen then as the ropes gave out. 

Far below, a river flowed between sharp rocks. It wasn’t a fall anyone would survive.

They crossed 3 more bridges before they crested a small hill and looked down on Kusa.

Kusagakure wasn’t a big village, only about a third the size of Konoha, but’s position between The land of Fire and the Land of Earth made it a hub of trade and industry in addition to a strategic ally. Since the last great war, the village had been careful to maintain its neutrality. 

At the center of the village, a towering stone building looked out over the plains. The tower was home to the village’s shinobi headquarters which included their Kage’s office, their academy, and their prison.

In a ring around the central tower were living quarters built of the same study, fireproof stone. It was here that the Grass shinobi lived along with the country's nobility and any visiting dignitaries.

From the center of town, the buildings got progressively smaller. Wooden shops and single story homes crowded the main road. If the village was ever under attack, defenders could take up positions around the center of the city and always have the high ground.

When the 2 Aburame made their way into town, they instinctively pressed closer together.

The streets weren’t empty, but no one lingered at market stalls and no kids played in the street. The civilians moved about their business quickly and quietly. 

Shino’d never been to Kusa before, but there seemed to be more shinobi out and about than there should be considering everything he’d heard and seen of Grass Country’s military.

Torune fought the urge to reach for a kunai that wasn’t attached to his thigh. Every instinct Danzou had beaten into him screamed that this was wrong. 

Shino nodded to the first inn they came across and Torune followed him inside without hesitation.

The innkeeper, a tall woman with muscular arms and a braid of red hair that was thicker than Shino’s neck, rented the boys a room without any small talk.

The second the wooden door closed behind them, Torune started to search the room. 

Shino frowned as Torune took the faded floral painting off the wall and all but dissected a dusty silk bouquet.

“What are you looking for?” Shino asked.

“Bugs.”

Shino raised an eyebrow.

Torune glared.

Shino’s eyes widened when he realized his brother didn’t mean their kind of bugs.

Tourne nodded in satisfaction when Shino dispersed his kikaichuu to search every nook and cranny.

“Clean,” Shino declared and settled on one of the room’s 2 twin beds.

Torune sat on the other and for a long minute neither said anything.

“There’s too many shinobi here,” Torune said at last. “Something isn’t right.”

Shino frowned. “They’ve been having issues with a violent drug ring. It’s not that weird that they’d increase their shinobi presence.”

Torune ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Maybe, but I’ll feel better when we’re done here. I’ll need to report this to my commander when we get back.”

Shino nodded. “I don’t want to risk climbing in the ravines after dark. We’ll need to spend at least one night here.”

“We’ll draw too much suspicion if we don’t at least stay the night at this point. We were definitely tailed from the gate to the inn.”

Neither Aburame got much sleep that night.

\---

Shino paid the innkeeper and the pair checked out before sunrise. By unspoken agreement, they’d both packed with the expectation that they wouldn’t be returning.

On the far side of Kusa, the buildings tapered off until they were replaced by towering boulders and patchy scrubland. On the horizon rocky cliffs jutted from the ground, their bases obscured by dense vegetation.

“I once had a tracking mission in the bamboo groves,” Torune said and nodded towards the horizon. 

“I’m sure there’s lots of unique creatures that live there,” Shino said. “When the flora is so unvaried, every creature must adapt and specialize to survive.”

Torune shrugged. “It’s not high on my list of places I want to visit again.”

Shino adjusted his backpack and smiled at his brother. “Tell me about it. We skipped ghost stories last night.” 

Shino stepped off the road and looked back at Torune expectantly.

Torune rolled his eyes and followed Shino into the scrubland. “The bamboo is dense. It’s almost impossible to move through without hacking a path and the leaves are sharp. They don’t look it, but when you brush against them while running you end up covered in shallow cuts that sting. And there’s no landmarks, so navigating with anything but a compass is exceedingly difficult. By the time we caught up to the guy we were after, he was glad to see us. He’d been lost for 3 days and was delirious from dehydration.”

“Sounds unpleasant.”

“I’m sure the Grass shinobi say the same thing about our geography and plant life.”

Shino snorted. 

\---

After an hour of walking, Shino stopped abruptly. 

Torune backpedalled to keep from crashing into him and then peered over Shino’s shoulder. A ravine opened inches in front of Shino’s feet. It was only 5 feet across and maybe 10 feet long, but looking down into the darkness, Torune couldn’t see the bottom.

Shino dropped his pack to the ground and began rummaging through the pockets.

Torune slipped closer to the edge and knelt down to see what the sides looked like, if it was easily climbable. His head spun when he realized the walls of the ravine undercut the ground they were standing on a considerable distance. They’d been walking over hollow ground for some time.

“Ready?” Shino asked. He was holding a flare with one hand offering the end of a rope to Torune with the other. The rest of the rope was tied in a simple harness around Shino’s waist.

Torune grabbed the rope, fastened it to a study looking scrub bush, and then looped it around a bolder worn smooth by years of wind driven rain. He’d have enough leverage to slowly lower Shino and failsafe in case he was incapacitated somehow.

Shino scooted until his feet were dangling over the abyss and he was sitting on the edge. “I’ll go down and take a look around. When I find a ledge or cave that we can operate out of, you can come down and bring my bag.”

“Be careful.”

Shino smirked, cracked his flare. and pushed himself off the edge.”

Torune let Shino fall a few feet, gradually slowing his fall instead of jerking him to a hard stop, and heard the kid’s laughter echoing up the ravine. _Someone’s been a bad influence on him_ , Torune thought. _Going to give me a heart attack sooner rather than later._

It wasn’t much longer before slack appeared in the line and Shino called up that he’d found a big ledge and anchored his end of the rope.

Torune repelled down into the darkness until the red-orange glow of Shino’s flare beat back the shadows.

When there was solid ground back under Torune’s feet, he looked around.

The opening to the ravine was a jagged slash of blue sky a good 20 feet over and 6 feet to the left of their ledge. 

Shino’s face looked demonic in the light of the flare as he moved around to illuminate the rest of the area. The ledge they were on was 6 feet wide and extended to the right and left indefinitely into the darkness.

“Wonder how far down it goes?” Shino nodded towards the edge and the inky darkness beyond the ledge.

“How many of those flares do you have?”

“A lot.”

Torune motioned for Shino to pass him the flare and then promptly chucked it over the edge. 

Both boys watched it fall. The ravine opened wider again about 10 feet below them, into a proper canyon. It was at least a couple hundred feet to the bottom and the way the torch vanished, Torune was willing to bet the river that carved this place still flowed.

Shino pulled a flashlight out of his belt and clicked it on. The light was dimmer, but more consistent and evenly colored than the torch-- both of which were critical features for identifying bugs.

Torune looked at Shino expectantly. 

“Step one is to find a cave spider,” Shino said

“What’s step 2?” Torune asked, deadpan.

“Observe how they react to Rinkaichuu poison.”

“Great. Duck.”

Shino hit the deck and Torune’s kunai brushed through the air where Shino’s right shoulder had been. It clattered to the stone along with a large, stunned white spider.

Shino scrambled out of the way as Torune approached the spider and held his hand out over it’s twitching form.

Shino shuddered. The Rinkaichuu’s wing cases glittered a deep purple in his flashlight beam.

The spider managed to right itself and put up a fight, until Torune stepped on it. “It wasn’t bothered by the Rinkaichuu and they were unbothered by its bite.”

Shino nodded in satisfaction. He’d been right. 

“What’s step 3?”

“Figure out what’s eating the cave spiders.”

\---

Several other repels, an unholy amount of rope, and 6 hours later Shino’s bag was half full of inhabited specimen jars and Torune was leaning heavily against the wall of the ravine with a spinning head. 

While the local mosquitoes didn’t manage to survive long when drinking Torune’s blood. Individually, the bites weren’t enough for him to feel the mind numbing effect, but the little monsters seemed to think Torune smelled like a 5 star buffet and all the little doses of poison were adding up. 

Shino cupped another couple of mosquitoes in a jar as they buzzed Torune’s head and hummed in satisfaction. “We should have enough of them to start a colony.”

“Fantastic,” Torune mumbled. 

“Feeling susceptible to suggestion?” Shino asked.

“A bit woozy and tired.”

“No desire to obey my every whim?” Shino grinned. He shined the flashlight under his chin and pulled a scary face.

“That’s not what susceptible to suggestion means.”

Shino sighed and swept the light around their current perch-- a narrow craggy outcrop that jutted over the river. They were deep enough in the ravine to hear the water rushing below.

A movement on the wall caught Shino’s eye and he stepped closer. They’d seen a number of cave spiders near the surface, but none this deep down. A centipede paused to stare back at Shino. “Think it could be a centipede?”

Torune shook his head. “That’s just a normal looking centipede. I doubt it’s what you’re looking for.” He pushed himself off the wall and crouched down to investigate a hole.

With Torune distracted, Shino’s shoulders sagged. He was tired and disappointed. Given the week he’d planned for, he had no doubt they could find what he was looking for. They didn’t have a week. Torune was itching to get home and report the oddness in Kusa. They didn’t even know if it was an insect decimating the cave spider population.

“I think I found something,” Torune called and moved back so Shino could check the hole.

It was full of dead cave spiders. They were on their backs, spindly legs curled in death. The venom pouch on their thorax had been devoured, but the rest of their meat remained in their exoskeleton.

“Only thing I’ve ever seen strip a body that small with that much precision is a small insect,” Torune said.

Shino nodded. “They only ate the venom.” There was a note of wonder and awe in his voice. His confidence surged. There was definitely an insect here that could resist the Rinkaichuu’s poison.

“So you made your decision,” Torune’s voice was soft and emotionless.

Shino looked over his shoulder and shone the light on Torune’s face. His pupils were dilated and remained dilated despite the light on his face. He blinked lazily.

“You don’t want me to go down this road?” Shino asked and then immediately wished he’d kept his mouth shut as a wave of guilt rose in his throat like bile. Torune had been so careful not to push him one way or another, but Shino wanted to hear the truth and in his current state Torune would tell it whether he wanted to or not.

“No. I think I must have been a horrible person in a past life to deserve this existence. It is its own sort of hell to walk the earth unable to really be a part of it. The only good I’ve ever been able to do with my life is send other monsters to their own hell. You deserve better. Always have. It’s why I begged Danzou to take me instead.”

Shino’s eyes widened. His memory of the day Torune left wasn’t really a memory, just a scene he’d constructed from eavesdropping on his parents as he grew up. He knew Danzou came seeking an Aburame and Torune volunteered. He didn’t know Torune had volunteered to take his place.

“You deserve better too,” Shino whispered. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Torune just shook his head and refused to meet Shino’s eyes. 

Shino fished an unlit torch out of his bag and scooted close enough to Torune to poke the older Aburame with one end.

Torune took the end and pressed it back towards Shino. Their hands were only an inch apart and it sent a wave of both longing and anxiety through Torune.

Shino returned the pressure carefully. “I won’t take a poisonous species like the Rinkaichuu, but I still want to find whatever’s eating the cave spiders.”

Torune nodded. “Okay.” He let go of the torch and stepped back to put more space between them. His sandal slipped on a bit of loose gravel. He pitched towards Shino and horror flashed across Torune’s face. 

With years of honed instincts, Torune twisted and managed to bring up the foot he'd had planted to kick Shino away. 

Torune’s boot connected with Shino’s stomach and they both tumbled off the outcrop without a chance to scream.

The force of the blow knocked the air out of Shino’s lungs and he hit the water gasping for air.

The water was ice cold and fast. It burned Shino’s lungs and throat and he didn’t know which way was up and which was down.

For a second, Shino was sure he was going to drown. Then, his back slammed against a rock and he twisted, just managing to cling to the rock.

Shino scrambled and clawed his way up the rock. His head broke the surface. He sputtered, gagged, and then registered the dull ache in his hands. 

It took a few precious seconds for Shino’s brain to process the situation. He could feel warm blood flowing over his cold numbed skin and realized he’d shredded the skin on his fingers climbing the rock. 

Shino shivered. The flashlight was gone, the torch he’d been holding was gone, his bag was still on the outcrop, he couldn’t see anything in the perfect darkness, and somewhere nearby Torune had gone into the water too.

“Torune?!” Shino screamed.

No one answered. 

Shino screamed again and again until his throat was raw and his voice cracked. He clung to the rock, shaking from the cold, and sobbed. It was so cold. The stillness of his insects under his skin told Shino he was in shock and possibly hypothermic.

Slowly, the darkness began to ease.

Shino gulped down air between sobs and a mangled attempt at Torune’s name.

Out of the gloom a strange silhouette appeared. 

Shino’d read stories about giant mushrooms in the mountains on the border between Grass and Earth.

It seemed that some bioluminscent variety made their home deep in the ravines.

Around Shino, with the brighter, artificial light gone, the banks of the river glowed.

As his eyes adjusted, Shino saw the river curve in the distance and a dark shape tossed on the outside curve of the bank.

Shino scrambled onto the surface of the water, forcing chakra through constricted pathways. It burned like someone had injected molten metal into his cold veins, but he didn’t care. 

Shino staggered down the river and onto the bank.

Torune was face down on a sandy beach. 

There was blood in his hair and a gash on the back of his head.

Shino tugged on Torune’s clothes to turn him over. SHino’s hands were shaking so badly he could hardly get a grip. 

Torune wasn’t breathing. 

Shino swallowed back another wave of tears. His hands hovered over his brother’s chest. He knew what to do-- CPR and rescue breaths for the drowning, close skin to skin contact for the hypothermia-- but it wasn’t an option with Torune.

Shino closed his eyes. Torune had hit his head in the fall. He could have been gone before he ever hit the water and Shino trying to save him would be throwing away his life for nothing.

Shino couldn’t forgive himself if he didn’t try.

The Rinkaichuu bit the second Shino put his hands on Torune’s chest. They’d felt their host’s heart stop and there was nothing to keep them from leaving their now useless nest to feed.

The poison felt like nothing Shino'd ever experienced-- hot, cold, and electric all at once. He could feel his Kikaichuu dying as they fought to protect him.

Torune’s ribs gave a bit with each compression.

Shino paused and tilted his brother’s head for rescue breaths.

The Rinkaichuu clambered up Shino’s arms. They bit his face and clung to his hair when he went back to doing compressions. 

Shino couldn’t feel his arms or his face. He could feel his throat swelling and heart slowing down. He could hear the way he wheezed, trying desperately to make some sort of difference with his last breath.

Shino collapsed beside Torune and he thought the last thing he heard was Torune gagging.

\---

It was the pain that told Shino he wasn’t dead.

The Rinkaichuu’s poison had hurt like someone ripped out his nervous system and set it on fire without disconnecting it from his brain.

This felt like someone was stitching the destroyed nerves back in with a dull needle and hot wire for thread.

Shino could hear someone screaming and realized it was him. Then he realized it wasn’t his nervous system, but his chakra system that was under attack. The rinkaichuu ate both meat and chakra, of course the chakra network would be their target when left to feed without any direction.

On instinct, Shino reached for his Kikaichuu. There were precious few left to answer his call and they seemed unwilling to move to his defense.

Shino gathered a bit of chakra from his core to try to push whatever was in his chakra network out. 

“Don’t!” Torune’s voice cut through Shino’s hoarse screaming. His face filled Shino’s vision, eyebrows squeezed together with worry and his profile lit by the blue green glow of the mushrooms. “I know it hurts and feels like they don’t belong, but this is what bonding feels like and if you fight them now, you’re going to die.”

Shino gasped for air and forced himself to process Torune’s words.

_Bonding?_ The word floated lazily around Shino’s brain for several minutes-- or maybe it was hours or maybe it was seconds-- before it registered.

Shino forced himself to take a closer look at the source of the pain. There were things in him that didn’t belong and they weren’t the rinkaichuu. They were too big. 

The things were eating the Rinkaichuu’s poison and his chakra with equal gusto.

Shino forced himself to let his chakra out in a gentle trickle. He’d knew the steps of the bonding process. He needed to use his chakra to form a connection with the new species. If they were compatible, sharing chakra would cement the symbiotic relationship and allow him to both control and communicate with them on some level.

The sharing of chakra changed things-- extended lifespans, rewired neural pathways, made them more human. Shino didn’t know the specifics, but form vague conversations he was pretty sure the Inuzuka clan had a similar process to bond with their ninken. The process also worked in reverse. The Aburame clan were almost all sensitive to light and had heightened senses-- mostly smell but some could detect minute vibrations or navigate by feeling hte world's magnetic field.

The things responded with delight and thanks and a promise. The pain faded from all encompassing to excruciating as the things learned their new host’s body.

Shino forced himself to sit up so that he could hurl on the beach instead of on himself.

Arms wrapped around Shino, holding him up and Shino leaned into the touch. 

“You’re doing so good,” Torune mumbled into Shino’s hair and did his best to hold Shino gently.

Shino felt the words rumble in Torune’s chest and his eyes flicked open. 

They were both covered in glowing moths a bit bigger than Shino’s thumbnail. They flashed between an icy blue and a deep, rich purple. It was the color of the glowing mushrooms and the color of the Rinkaichuu’s poison. Some of them began to shift to a green, somewhere between mossy and emerald. It reminded Shino of home, when the sun was setting and the last of the light filtered through the trees.

“Caterpillars,” Shino managed to slur. The things in him felt like caterpillars-- lots of little legs and squishy.

“Yeah. The moths found us first. I think they were trying to carrying off the Rinkaichuu back to their larva who live in the mushrooms. Either your Kikaichuu explained the situation or they’re very smart moths, because they brought their larva help you.”

“Are they hurting you?” Shino’s mind flicked back to the cave spiders. If these things liked the taste of the rinkaichuu, they were probably also responsible for eating the cave spiders. It made sense they only found live ones near the top of the ravine. The moths had decimated the lower population.

“No,” Torune promised. “What’s left of my rinkaichuu are safely tucked away. The moths are eating the extra poison in my skin though. Not sure if it’s through their feet or their tongue.”

“Need to study them,” Shino mumbled.

“You’ll have lots of time,” Torune promised.

Shino smiled against his brother. The pain continued to fade and its absence was one hell of a drug. He could feel the kikaichuu examining their new neighbors. 

“You give good hugs,” Shino mumbled. 

Torune trembled and held Shino tighter. 

They were both crying.

\---

The sun was rising when the 2 Aburame climbed out of the ravine. 

For a long moment, they just leaned against each other and watched the sky shift from lavender to pink to gold.

Only a dozen caterpillars had stayed with Shino. He supposed they knew how much chakra he had to offer them and had no interest in killing him. A handful of moths had also settled in his hair and under his clothes. 

Shino decided they absorbed chakra through their feet, but drank poison through their tongue.

Shino held out his hand and watched a small, fuzzy, white caterpillar crawl across the back of his hand. It was blind, but turned its head towards the warmth of the sun. The early light danced in its hairs, illuminating near transparent barbs. 

Shino had no doubt the caterpillar was poisonous, but not like the Rinkaichuu were. It was a defensive thing and contained within the insect. 

In the morning sun, Torune’s skin was clear of poison for the first time in his memory. 

“Think they have a name?” Torune asked. He too was watching the caterpillar on Shino’s hand. 

Shino shook his head. “I doubt it.”

“An exciting discovery then.”

“They’ll be useful. A contact poison, bioluminescence, 2 different forms, and the ability to cure poison. The possibilities are extensive,” Shino agreed. He reached out hesitantly and Torune met him halfway, taking Shino’s hand.

The both smiled and turned for home, still leaning heavily on each other.


	14. Chapter 14

The only one on Team 8 who wasn’t surprised when the scent trail followed the mail road towards Kusagakure was Kurenai. 

“He’s heading for friends,” Kurenai said. Her face darkened for a moment. This wasn’t a frantic scramble for a safe place to hide. Their target was moving like a man with a plan.

Sasuke’s shivered and for a heartbeat his eyes flickered red with anticipation. His hand slipped to his kunai holster, checking that it wasn’t covered by his clothes.  _ Finally a chance to see what we can do, see how much stronger I’ve gotten. _

Hinata’s lips twitched from a soft smile to a neutral line and then back.

Sasuke wondered if she was looking forward to a fight or worrying about it.

Kiba was in the lead with Akamaru running on his heels, so Sasuke couldn’t see Kiba’s thoughts on his face. “Scent’s strong and as windy as this place is, he can’t be far ahead of us. Maybe a day at most.”

Kiba’s words came out rough and slightly slurred. When he turned his head to throw a grin back at the team, his teeth seemed to not quite fit in his mouth and it wasn’t just the incisors that were too pointed.

Sasuke felt a thrill run down his spine.  _ So this is the true form of the Inuzuka Clan’s technique, _ he thought. The Inuzuka weren’t just ninken handlers. Kakashi always said the bond between Inuzuka and their hound changed both parties, but now Sasuke could really see what that meant.  _ They’re 2 halves of the same whole and their bond makes them greater than the sum of their parts. _

Akamaru threw his head back and howled to the wind with a voice bigger than his body. The glint in his eyes was too knowing, too human. 

When Kiba tossed his head back and joined in, the wind seemed to kick up and carry a new chill. 

Then Hinata let out a soft growl and Kurenai smirked, her eyes seeming to darken to the color of fresh blood.

Sasuke wondered if their quarry could feel the change in the wind, if somewhere across the plain he was shivering at the realization of what was hunting him.

Late in the evening, Kiba led them off the main road and north onto a smaller dirt track that if one was generous could still be considered a road.

Deep ruts said this road saw heavy wagon traffic at some point during the year, but there was no one as far as Hinata could see.

They were headed due north, less than a day from the border with Earth. The geography changed rapidly. The grass grew shorter and the soil grew rockier.

Great boulders dotted the plains and the wind seemed to moan as it split around the stone giants.

“Scent’s getting stronger,” Kiba muttered.

Kurenai nodded to Hinata and the Hyuga broke formation to scramble up the nearest boulder and stare out with her silver eyes.

“There’s no one on the road, but I can see a town in the distance. If we push, we can make it maybe an hour after sunset,” Hinata hopped off the rock and rejoined the running formation.

“We’ll push for town,” Kurenai said. “If Eiji’s still there when we arrive, he’ll have to either stand and fight or run scared. Either way we’ll have him.”

Sasuke bit his tongue to keep from repeating Kakashi’s regular warning.  _ Don’t corner a snake if you don’t know what kind it is. _

Kakashi would have had them camp away from town and approach in daylight when they were at their most rested. In town, he’d take the time to talk to the locals, gather intel, and then corner the quarry well away from civilians if possible. It was a cautious approach, but it gave the quarry a chance to slip away if they were very careful and clever. Kurenai seemed somewhat reckless by comparison.

Sasuke’s eyes flickered to the jounin. Her face was serious and she scanned the horizon, not totally trusting that Kiba’s nose and Hinata’s eyes were unbeatable, but she wasn’t tense or concerned. She was every inch a jounin on a mission. 

_ Not reckless. Confident, _ Sasuke realized. Kurenai had no anxiety about this team facing their opponent. 

Sasuke knew Kakashi was confident in Team 7. They’d proved themselves. But Sasuke also knew that even when Kakashi stepped back with a smirk and set the kids on a group of bandits the jounin was anxious. He fiddled with a kunai and often uncovered his sharingan.

They reached the town as Hinata predicted about an hour after sunset. To call it a town was generous. A trade outpost was a more accurate description. A couple warehouses and grain silos hunkered to the left just off the road. A handful of houses-- mostly dark-- and an inn built over a bar-- well lit and loud-- sat off the track to the right.

Kiba stopped just outside the ring of light leaking from the bar’s front door. “His scent is all over here and fresh. He’s been in the inn, 2 of the warehouses, and he at least touched the shorter grain silo.”

“Then, we’ll start by introducing ourselves to the locals,” Kurenai said with a smile that was anything but friendly. She turned towards the bar and Sasuke found himself thinking that if she kept up that smile, she might be worse at dealing with civilians than Kakashi.

The bar was crowded and loud. The front door was propped open in the hopes of combating the heat and smell. Few patrons noticed the jounin slip in the door and even fewer noticed the 3 kids that trailed her. The genin were short enough that they vanished in the crowd.

Walking into the bar, Sasuke felt like he’d been smacked in the face. It was hot and humid. The smell of booze and sweat was dominant, but it didn’t totally wipe out the bitter, acidic smell of vomit. The patrons were largely men and most’s clothes outed them as farmers-- sturdy denim, mud stained work boots, and straw shade hats tossed on the table or under chairs.

Kiba gagged beside Sasuke and couldn’t resist plugging his nose with his right hand. 

Hinata immediately stepped up to cover Kiba’s right side and the Inuzuka flashed her a grateful look. 

Kurenai glanced back and saw the way the genin had closed ranks. She nodded her approval and waved for them to follow her. Whether it was intentional or not, they’d done the right thing, clustering together and covering each other, in a crowded and potentially hostile environment where blending in wasn’t an option. 

Kurenai picked her way to the bar. 

The barkeep was a portly man whose hair had retired and migrated south to form an impressive, gray beard. He finished filling a tankard and watched Kurenai with calculating, dark eyes.

The barkeep nodded to Kurenai, pivoted, pulled a clean tankard from the cupboard, and set it on the worn bar in front of the kunoichi.

“We got some beer imported from Earth, a couple local brews, a house made dandelion wine, and the hard stock’s on the shelves behind me.”

Kurenai slipped onto a barstool and motioned for the kids to do the same. “I’ll take the import and the kids will have whatever isn’t alcoholic.”

The barkeep snorted and went to work filling mugs. 

Sasuke watched the man’s reflection distort in the glass bottles that lined the wall as the barkeep poked around, presumably looking for something to serve kids.

Sasuke fought the urge to grimace when he sipped the seltzer water the barkeep set in front of him. It was bitter and unpleasant. He couldn’t imagine the offered lemon wedges would improve it.

Kiba didn’t bother with the drink in front of him. He slumped on the bar, still holding his nose, and looking a bit green.

Hinata alternated between squeezing lemon wedges into her tankard and patting Kiba on the back.

The barkeep finished topping up his other customers and returned to stand in front of the shinobi.

Kurenai slid a stack of bills across the counter to the man. “We won’t be starting a tab.”

The barkeep snorted. “Figured. Oh well,” he shrugged,” You’ve got more manners than most shinobi we get through here. Who you looking for?”

Kurenai pulled a folded up flyer out of her pouch and slid it across the bar.

The barkeep unfolded in and narrowed his eyes. It was a long minute before he looked back at Kurenai. He scrutinized the flyer, wiped his hands one at a time on his apron, and ran a hand over his head like it was a hold over habit from the days he’d had hair there.

Finally, the barkeep looked up. His eyes flickered from Kurenai to the genin.

His gaze danced over Sasuke. The Uchiha’s defining crest was on his back and a dark haired kid wasn’t anything interesting.

Kiba shifted on the stool to face the bartender. “You have a very shiny head,” the Inuzuka muttered, sounding stuffy with his nose plugged. 

The barkeep nodded. “Thanks. I polish it every morning.” He didn’t see Akamaru under Kiba’s feet, keeping watch on the shinobi’s backs.

Hinata’s soda water was now flat with about 4 lemons worth of wedges squeezed into it. She sipped it and held the barkeep’s evaluating stare.

The barkeep turned back to Kurenai. “You bring backup?”

Kurenai smiled. “They’re more than they appear to be.”

The barkeep shrugged. “Suit yourself. Far left corner table. The guy getting his ass beat at poker can point you towards your man.” He refolded the flyer and passed it back to Kurenai. “If you could gut every greedy rat who threw their lot in with the bastard without burning down the town, you’d drink here for free the rest of your life.”

Kurenai smiled a bit wider. “We’re only here for the one bastard and he’s wanted alive, but we’ll see what we can do about clearing out the rest of the rat’s nest.”

The barkeep nodded twice and then went back to tending to the rest of the patrons. 

Kurenai turned to the kids. “Who knows how to play poker?”

“My father says gambling is reckless and irresponsible,” Hinata mumbled. 

“Great. I’m sure you’ll pick it up fast.”

Hinata smiled and sipped her drink.

Kiba reluctantly raised a hand. “Akamaru and I have been hustling the younger cousins for years, but I don’t think they’ll let a dog play and he’s definitely the brains of our operation.”

“I can work with that. You know enough to cause trouble.”

Kurenai glanced at Sasuke and absolutely beamed. “I know you know how to play.”

“I barely know the rules, but I know 37 different ways to cheat at cards without using the sharingan.”

“You are so Kakashi’s kid.”

Sasuke shrugged and tried to ignore the rush of pride warm in his chest.

Kurenai stood up and clapped her hands. “Alright the objective is to get our new friend’s money back to him and then take all of it. I want him pissed enough to follow us out back. This is a no holds barred mission. Let’s give these guys a reason to never gamble against a shinobi.”

“Won’t they already know that?” Sasuke asked.

“Nah. Barkeep said they shinobi they see in these parts don’t have any manners. They don’t pay the nice bartender and they don’t mingle with the locals and that’s just typical of Iwa nin.”

The 4 shinobi wove their way between tables to the back corner where a tall, thin man with a greasy mustache and bald head was indeed losing spectacularly.

“His head’s not shiny,” Kiba mumbled.

“And he has no poker face,” Sasuke added.

Hinata’s eyes sharpened as her byakugan flared to life. “The cards are marked. Look at the notches in the sides. Everyone should know what everyone else has and he’s still losing.”

Kurenai motioned for the kids to hand back and sidled up beside the dealer, an average man in every way. “Hey love,” she murmured in his ear. “I’m on my way to Earth. I’ve been on the road with a bunch of brats for 3 weeks and I desperately need a distraction.”

The dealer glanced over at Kurenai and his eyes widened. 

Kurenai smiled sweetly,  _ average man in every way. _

“You and the brats got buy in?”

“Oh yeah and I’ve got something extra for wherever knocks the little shits off their high horses.”

The dealer sat them spread out around the table, squeezed between larger men who grinned at the kids like a dog who had a steak land in its bowl. Their eyes only got hungrier when the kids each set a heavy purse on the table.

What came next was a mockery of a poker game. 

Cards slipped between fingers used to wielding kunai. The puff of a substitution jutsu was lost in the general nose and the smoke dismissed among the ashtrays across the table.

More than once, Kurenai caught Kiba shoving a card in his mouth. The Inuzuka just grinned back. Who would notice one less king and a handful of extra 2s?

Sasuke’s eyes flickered red just long enough to make their mark think his hand was a straight flush. The man couldn’t bluff worth shit, so the Uchiha helped him out with a little genjutsu.

Slowly the money on the table made its way back towards mustache man. As his fortunes turned, he grew cocky and introduced himself to Kurenai as Eiji while looking decidedly not at her face.

Kurenai just smiled wider. The man was stupid enough to use his employer’s name. He was perfect.

90 minutes in, the other men left the table. It was just the mark and the shinobi.

Kurenai nodded. The kids grinned and the cheating ramped up.

Not-Eiji and the dealer both knew the shinobi were cheating, but they couldn’t figure out how. 

Not-Eiji’s money dwindled until he was all in. The hand went to Kurenai.

“I think it’s time for us to call it a night,” Kurenai said sweetly.

Neither man said a word as the shinobi pocketed the money and stood up.

Kurenai winked back Not-Eiji and Kiba picked up the river card and shoved it in his mouth, chewing clear as day.

Kurenai waited until the shock on Not-Eiji’s face started to turn to anger at the realization he’d been had by a bunch of kids before she dropped a hefty tip in the dealer’s lap and quickly steered the genin to the door.

Not-Eiji caught up with team 8 in the alley beside the bar. “Give me back my money, bitch,” he growled.

“Your boss know you’re using his name for street cred?” Kurenai cooed back. 

Not-Eiji lunged and tripped over his own drunk feet with a little help from Akamaru.

Kiba and Hinata were on him in an instant. 

Kiba hauled the man to his feet with a strength a 13 year old shouldn’t have.

Hinata’s hand connected with Not-Eiji’s chest deceptively gentle.

Sasuke could hear the air leave the man’s lungs.

“Want to test out your genjutsu?” Kurenai asked the Uchiha.

Sasuke blinked in surprise. “What should I do?”

“Get creative.”

Sasuke nodded. He stepped in front of the mark and lifted the man’s chin with one hand.

“Remember, it’s easier to let his mind fill in the gaps than it is to create a false sensation for each of his senses,” Kurenai reminded.

“Got it.”

Watery gray eyes met crimson and the man went limp in Kiba’s hold.

\---

Tatsuki felt like he was falling through darkness. Then his eyes jerked open and he found himself standing in a wheat field. The golden stalks reached his waist. He looked down and realized he was too small. The knobby, skinny knees poking out of his shorts were definitely his, but he hadn’t looked like this since he was 10.

Someone was yelling his name.

Slowly, Tatsuki turned. His mother was standing on the edge of the field. She looked and sounded scared. Tatsuki started to run. His legs were short, but his lungs worked like he’d never smoked a cigarette in his life. Looking at his mom’s wrinkle free face and then down at his small hands, he thought maybe he hadn’t.

“Mom!” Tatsuki yelled. “What’s wrong?”

She gathered him in a tight hug. “I just heard the most terrible thing. They arrested Mr. Watanabe for growing drugs in his corn field. He swears he didn’t plant them, but they dragged him away anyway. They burned his field. I don’t know how his wife and kids are going to get by.”

Tatsuki went rigid in his sobbing mother’s arms. 

_ This isn’t what happens. _ Sure, the modus operandi was familiar. Tatsuki had seeded plenty of fields himself, back when he first met Eiji. It was basically a right of passage for the gang. But it hadn’t happened when he was a kid and it hadn’t happened to Mr. Watanabe. He’d been a good man, helped after Tatsuki and his mother after his father passed.

Tatsuki’s mother sobbed harder. “I walked our field,” she choked out between sobs. “There’s things growing in the far field that I don’t recognize.” 

Tatsuki swallowed hard. They hadn’t used the far field for 2 years. Without his dad around, they just didn’t have the manpower to handle 3 fields.

“I don’t know what to do.”

Tatsuki pulled away from his mother’s embrace. “It’s okay Mom. I do. Just go inside and don’t worry. I’m going to fix this.” 

The world seemed to shift under Tatsuki’s feet. His mother was gone. Instead, he was staring into the glowing red eyes of a boy not quite in his teens. The wheat field was burning around them.

“What are you going to do?” the other boy asked. 

Tatsuki’s hands curled into fists. “I’m going to find Eiji and make him fix this. He can protect Mom.”

The other boy smiled. “Your mother died 8 years ago, peaceful in her sleep. Your fields never burned, but so many others did. It’s your fault.”

The flames swirled higher. 

Tatsuki felt like he was drowning in ash. He could hear the flames, the sobs of farmers watching their whole world, a hungry baby crying, a wife begging for her husband’s freedom.

Tatsuki crumpled to his knees.

\---

When the mark collapsed to his knees, Kiba let him.

Sasuke staggered back and Kurenai caught the Uchiha before he fell. 

“You good?” the jounin asked. 

“That was a lot,” Sasuke mumbled.

Kurenai ruffled his hair. “Genjutsu takes a lot of mental energy and you’ve had a long couple days. You get what we need or soften him up for me?”

“Let’s see,” Sasuke said. He pulled away from Kurenai’s support and knelt down in front of Tatsuki.

“What’s done is done, but your sins can stop here,” Sasuke intoned.

Tatsuki looked up into the glowing eyes that would fuel his nightmares for years. “What do you want?”

“Tell us about Eiji.”

Tatsuki spilled his guts.

\---

Eiji woke up to the soft clunk of bamboo bumping and rubbing in a night breeze. The grove he was camped in was well protected. The bamboo grew so dense it was almost impassible. Only someone who knew this area well could pick their way between patches where the dirt covered old stone and it was too shallow for the roots to grow. 

Tatsuki was an idiot, but Eiji kept him around for a reason.

Eiji didn’t know what woke him, but the night felt eerie. The 6 men he’d brought as guards were still asleep.

Just as he was about to lay back down and sink back into sleep’s warm embrace, in the distance, Eiji heard it. An inhuman howl danced on the faint breeze and the air smelled of ash.

“We’re under attack!” Eiji screamed and scrambled for his weapon, a short sword.

Bamboo groaned as if pressed by a brutal gust of wind and then the sharp crack of shattering wood split the night.

The men were just clambering to their feet, half dressed but armed to the teeth, when the bamboo at the edge of the grove exploded and a ball of fire lit the night.

2 demons stepped into the grove dressed as children. The girl’s eyes were white and unseeing like the dead. Eiji had seen enough corpses to know what their eyes looked like after a few days in a ditch. 

The boy’s eyes glowed like the fire he breathed and when he smiled smoke curled from his lips. 

Someone laughed.

Eiji whipped around to see another pair of children. These ones were identical, cloaked in furs with teeth that glinted in the moonlight like something from a wolf’s hungry maw.

Behind the twins, Tatsuki pressed himself against the bamboo and refused to look his employer in the eyes. 

Eiji’s mind went blank. He didn’t even register the forehead protectors the demons wore. 

In the heartbeat that the men hesitated, the demons attacked.

The girl wove her way through Eiji’s men like she was dancing. She swayed away from knives and grasping fists. Her touch made men howl in pain and crumple to the ground.

As she twisted and twirled in the moonlight, Eiji swore he could hear her singing. “Gentle sting, soft bruise, easy easy, done.” Another man collapsed and the girl looked down in satisfaction. “You still have a spleen,” she declared.

The fire demon moved with a similar grace, but his movements were more efficient. Everything about him was sharp, from the feral grin on his face to the blades in the moonlight. He struck and dodged with unnerving accuracy, almost as if he knew where his opponent would be before they moved.

The twins linked hands and transformed into a swirling tornado of teeth and claws. Over the howling of the wind, Eiji swore he could hear them laughing.

Eiji was no coward, but he wasn’t a fool either. These weren’t Kusa shinobi. These powers weren’t human. Better to leave the others as a distraction for the monsters and slip into the night.

Eiji tried to run, but there was nowhere to go except towards the demons. He was met by dense bamboo on nearly every side. In desperation swung Eiji sword. It bit into the wood and stayed there. A machete it was not.

“How boring. I thought he’d be at least a little bit of fun,” Kurenai remarked. She stared at the man frantically trying to force his body through the dense bamboo like he was a cockroach.

With no escape in sight, Eiji ripped his sword free and turned to face the monsters. His men were scattered around the clearing like broken dolls. The demons were watching him with interest.

Behind the dead girl, a new demon stood, beautiful as the night with a cruel smile on her lips. She was the one who’d spoken.

“What sort of a leader tries to abandon his men?” One of the twins asked. “Is the whole honor among thieves thing really just a myth?”

“He’s not a thief,” the fire demon said. His voice was cold even as his eyes smoldered. “He’s a drug lord and the worst sort of trash.” Staring down Eiji, Sasuke found his eyes overlaying the image of another man-- another piece of trash.

Eiji was thinner and more muscular than Gatou had been, but they had the same eyes-- devoid of humanity, compassion, and guilt. 

Sasuke gripped his kunai tighter.

Eiji’s eyes flickered from one monster to the next, calculating. Then, without further warning, he lunged for the dead girl. If he could reach the woman behind the girl, if he could cut her down, maybe the others would vanish. 

The dead one smiled and leveled her sightless stare at Eiji’s chest. She raised her hands and waited for the man to close the distance.

Eiji swung his sword.

Hinata ducked and slammed her open hands to both sides of Eiji’s chest, so very careful not to destroy his heart or burst either of his lungs.

Eiji staggered back sucking in air like a fish on land. “So squishy,” Hinata mumbled.

The twins crouched down on either side of Eiji and sniffed. The man thought he was about to be eaten. 

“You stink like fear,” one said with a mouth that wasn’t meant for human syllables.

The other just growled.

“Right,” the first nodded, “fear and piss.” 

Kiba smiled and Akamaru mirrored his partner. “It’s always fun when the big tough guy wets himself.”

Hinata snickered.

Kurenai rolled her eyes. “Stop playing with your food and knock him out already.”

It was the last thing Eiji heard before Kiba’s foot connected with his jaw.

\---

Eiji woke up with his hands tied behind his back, his legs hobbled, and his shirt pulled up to cover his head.

He was on his back, he could feel people around him, and he could smell ash heavy in the air. 

“I think it looks like a bunny with wings,” a girl said.

There was a noise of consideration.

“I think this one might just be a blob monster, Hina,” a boy said with a heavy sigh.

“I think it looks like it hurts,” another boy said.

“You 2 are no fun,” the girl whined.

“Okay, it looks kind of like a tiny person lifting really big weights,” the second boy said.

“I think he’s awake,” the first boy said.

“We should fix that,” the girl muttered and Eiji heard the soft rustle of cloth as she shifted closer.

“Wait,” the second boy said, “I think he should see his empire burning.”

“Right,” the other children chorsued.

Eiji was dragged upright. He hissed through gritted teeth as pain shot through his chest. His ribs were bruised or cracked and the muscles around them screamed like someone had tried to pry his ribs out of his chest. His shirt was yanked down and it took several seconds for Eiji’s eyes to adjust to the brightness.

They were on a small rise. All before them, fields were burning. On the horizon, the wall of bamboo that had hid Eiji’s main growing operation was flattened. 

Eiji’s eyes flickered to the children around him.

In the daylight, they looked less demonic, but the sun glinted on their forehead protectors and Eiji wasn’t sure if it was really better.

Further away, the woman was speaking to a group of farmers. The men were armed with kerosene, torches, shovels, and rakes. Beyond the bamboo, teams of oxen were hitched to ploughs. 

When the fields were done burning, the ash would be turned into the soil and these fields would feed the villages Eiji had nearly destroyed. 

  
The rest of Eiji’s men had either fled or surrendered to their neighbors’ justice. Their fates weren’t Team 8’s concern.

Kurenai glanced over her shoulder at the genin and the prisoner. 

Eiji’s face was a mask of horror. Even if he escaped a second time, there was nothing left for him to escape back to. Worse, he seemed to finally understand that being taken by the Daimyo’s men was the kinder option than being left to the shinobi.

“Get him up,” Kurenai ordered. “We’ve got a long walk back to the rendezvous point with the Lord of Fire’s men.”

One of the kids elbowed Eiji and the other 2 grabbed his arms to haul him to his feet.

Eiji’s eyes closed and he let himself be half dragged and half led down off the rise.


	15. Chapter 15

Shino and Torune weren’t in any great hurry home. Both were exhausted. Torune had a couple cracked ribs and a mild concussion. Shino was still unsteady on his feet, a lingering side effect of the Rinkaichuu’s poison that would hopefully fade. 

After the howling wind of Grass country, the air itself seemed gentle and soft. Sunlight filtered through the pine trees and birds danced overhead. They took their time on the back half of the trip.

The 2 Aburame walked side by side in easy silence. Occasionally their shoulders brushed and both hid a grin.

Despite the peace of the return, when the road widened and merged with the main road from the north, they both walked a bit faster. Home was ahead, pulling them back into its embrace.

They’d reach Konoha before nightfall if they just picked up the pace a little more.

An earsplitting howl shattered the calm and sent the birds racing for the sky.

Torune scrambled for the sword on his back. 

Shino turned to face the forest and the source of the noise. He raised his hands just in time to catch Akamaru mid leap.

Shino staggered back under the weight of the dog and laughed. “Hello.”

“SHINO?!” Kiba came barrelling out of the underbrush towards the Aburame, grinning like a maniac.

Shino quickly set Akamaru down and widened his stance.

It wasn’t enough.

Kiba had 20 pounds on Shino and he put all of it into his flying tackle.

Shino and Kiba landed in the dirt in a tangle of limbs and laughter.

Torune lowered his sword slowly and stared down at the 2 kids wrestling at his feet.

A branch snapped and Torune’s eyes flickered back up, his posture again defensive.

Hinata came trotting out of the bushes and Sasuke jumped down from the canopy. He landed lightly behind the Hyuga and hung back while she flopped on top of Shino and Kiba.

Kurenai was the last to jump out of the tree tops and land beside Torune. “Sorry about the jump scare. Akamaru picked up a familiar scent and there’s really no stopping him once he gets going,” Kurenai offered.

Torune nodded. “You must be Kurenai Sensei. It's nice to meet you. Shino tells lots of stories about you.”

Kurenai’s eyes widened a bit as she realized who she was talking to. “And you must be Shino’s legendary older brother.”

Torune blushed and his eyes flickered away from the other jounin. “I wasn’t aware Shino told people about me.”

Kurenai’s face softened, not that Torune saw it. He was still watching team 8 roughhouse.

“He’s sparse with the details. Kid knows better than to go advertising your position,” Kurenai said softly.

Torune’s glanced back at her.

Kurenai shrugged. “Not hard to figure out. If you were a regular jounin or even a chuunin, we would have crossed paths already,” she paused to nod at the sword Torune was still holding, “Plus the only people I know who favor that sort of weapon are in your line of work or a lot older than you.”

Torune snorted and finally sheathed his blade. 

Kurenai held out her hand. “Really, it’s nice to meet you.”

Torune shied away, his whole body shifting and his hands pressing tight against his sides. 

Kurenai blinked in surprise and it took Torune’s brain a good 3 seconds to realize.

“Sorry. Habit.”

Torune took a shaky breath and then shook Kurenai’s hand.

The jounin grinned at the anbu. 

“What?” Torune frowned.

Kurenai just shook her head. “It’s nothing. You just remind me of a friend of mine.”

Torune just stared, trying to figure out which Aburame Kurenai would know. She was older than Muta by a couple years, but well younger than Shibi’s generation.

“...not until I know for sure they aren’t dangerous to others,” Shino’s voice cut through Torune’s thoughts.

The kids had finished their dog pile and were all standing in a loose circle with pine needles in their hair and dirt on their clothes. Someone must have dragged the Uchiha into the fray, because there was dirt on his nose and his dark hair was gray from the fine, powdery soil.

“But I can show you my brother!” Shino announced and turned to point towards Torune.

Torune froze. 

Shino grinned. “Guys, this is Torune.”

“You’re real!” Kiba said incredulously. “And not a giant beetle or something.”

Hinata smacked Kiba’s shoulder and was the first to step towards Torune and do a little bow. “Nice to meet you. I’m Hinata Hyuga.”

Tornue nodded back and opened his mouth to say something, but he didn’t get a chance because Kiba and Akamaru were suddenly right next to him. Akamaru sniffed at his shoes while Kiba just sniffed in Torune’s general direction. 

“Kiba Inuzuka,” Kiba announced. “That’s Akamaru,” he nodded down at the dog. “Sorry about the whole beetle comment, it’s just Shino tells all these stories, but leaves out a ton of details and we’ve never actually met you and you have to admit he’d totally refer to a giant bug as his sibling.”

“Uhhhh…” Torune floundered.

Kiba grinned. “You’re cool. Can you show us how to use swords?”

“Sure,” Torune fumbled over the word trying to stop it when it was already halfway spoken. He quickly looked at Kurenai.

The jounin was hiding a grin behind her hand. “We’d love to have you come train with us sometime, get a different set of eyes on the kids.”

Torune found himself nodding. “I’d like that.”

“And this is Sasuke,” Shino added.

Sasuke shuffled closer and smiled. “Hi. I haven’t heard any of Shino’s stories, but it’s still nice to meet you.” He recognized the sword on Torune’s back-- standard issue for an anbu. It was longer than the tanto that Kakashi favored, more like Itachi’s katana, and looking at it sent an uncomfortable shiver of nostalgia, longing, and fear down Sasuke’s spine. The fact that the Aburame looked to be about Itachi’s age only intensified the mix of emotions.

Torune made himself smile and nod back. Even without the crest on Sasuke’s back, Torune would have pegged him as an Uchiha. 

The 6 shinobi set off for the village together.

Torune was pestered for stories of dangerous missions and far off places. He complied, but remained uneasy. While the kids hung on every word of Torune’s soft tenor voice, his eyes kept flickering back to the Uchiha.

The group camped a couple hours short of the village. It’d been a long week for everyone and there was no urgency in this homecoming.

Torune took first watch. He settled on a log and listened to the forest stir around them. An owl flew overhead and a fox slipped through the underbrush. He could hear the steady breathing of the others. Through a gap in the branches, he could see a million stars.

“You knew Itachi, didn’t you?” Sasuke’s voice was soft and sleepy.

Torune shifted to see the Uchiha.

Sasuke was laying on his stomach in his sleeping bag. He’d propped himself up on his elbows and was watching Torune with wide eyes. “You’re an anbu and you’re his age,” Sasuke said to Torune’s unasked question.

Torune kicked himself for not realizing that having grown up with 2 different anbu, Sasuke would recognize the quirks.

“Plus, people who knew him always look at me funny.” Sasuke rolled over onto his back and stared up at the sky. “I mean everyone looks at me funny, but there’s different looks you know?” Sasuke held up his hand and counted on his fingers, “There’s the pity looks and the scared looks and the disgusted looks and then there’s the calculating looks. People who knew Itachi are always at least a little bit calculating.”

“I didn’t know him.” It was the truth. Danzou had kept the Root anbu away from the regular anbu and although Itachi had been dragged into the space between the 2 groups, he’d never been integrated into Root. “But you look like your family.”

Sasuke lowered his hands. 

Tornune closed his eyes. Sasuke didn’t look all that much like Itachi. Itachi had been slender and wiry. Sasuke wasn’t bulky by any means, but he was built more powerful, would probably be taller when he was done growing. His face was rounder, too. No. Sasuke didn’t look like Itachi. He looked more like Shisui.

Torune could see Shisui clear as day in his mind’s eye-- with one hand pressed to his face, blood seeping between the fingers and his skin fading to gray in the moonlight as the rinkaichuu poison spread from the kunai Danzou had buried in the Uchiha’s shoulder. 

Torune had refused to attack a fellow Konoha shinobi, but it hadn’t mattered. Unlike cave spider poison, the Rinkaichuu’s remained potent indefinitely. It was good for coating weapons.

Even if Torune had turned on Danzou then, that too would have been futile. He couldn’t have saved Shisui. It was too late. 

Torune always remembered the way Shisui’s face hardened in the seconds before he shuushined away. It was a look of resolve. Torune always wondered what the Uchiha did with his last minutes. He hoped that when his time came, he could find that same sort of steel in himself.

Torune realized Sasuke was still watching him.

“They deserved better,” Torune whispered and did his best to banish the image of a dying Uchiha from his mind. Shisui was only one of the many ghosts Torune picked up while In Danzou’s service.

Sasuke sat up and twisted to face Torune. He was surprised to see guilt instead of pity on the man’s face. “You know any other Uchiha?” he asked carefully.

“I worked with Shisui a couple times, but no. I just owe Itachi a debt.” 

Sasuke watched Torune turn to look at Shino’s sleeping form. 

Torune’s mouth softened and his shoulders relaxed slightly. 

It made Sasuke’s heart ache and his vision blur, but he smiled and wiped the tears with the back of his hand before they could fall. “I’m glad Shino got you back.” 

Torune looked back at the Uchiha and caught the look of longing in the heartbeat before Sasuke recomposed his face. “Do you miss him?” Torune asked.

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably and Torune thought the kid wasn’t going to answer. 

“I miss who I thought he was,” Sasuke admitted at last. “I miss my brother who walked me to school, read me stories, and taught me to skip rocks.”

Torune nodded. 

Sasuke hugged his knees to his chest. “I don’t know if he was ever who I thought he was, but I loved him and I miss him and I can’t change that.” Sasuke looked up with crimson eyes, “I also can’t change the fact that someday he might come back as a threat to everyone else I love. I will protect my family.”

Torune nodded again. “Be careful. It’s easy to get swept up by a mission like that. It never really ends and if you aren’t careful it will carry you far away from the very ones you are trying to save.”

Sasuke shivered. 

“You should go to sleep,” Torune said.

Sasuke sighed, but did as he was told.

\---

They set off at sunrise and Torune was convinced he’d never been a part of a noisy collection of shinobi. 

Kiba regaled Shino with their defeat of the drug lord. His story telling style could only be described as bombastic. “... And then Hinata blew up the bamboo with a palm heel strike. CRACK!!! And then Sasuke was like ‘WHOOOOOSH!!! With this giant fireball…”

Torune listened for any mention of Kusa nin and filed away the fact that none had shown up for the burning of Eiji’s fields. If the increased presence he and Shino notice in Kusa was solely because of the drug ring, they would have been there.

Shino just smiled and nodded when Kiba waved his arms and imitated Eiji’s deep voice. “It sounds like a fun mission, but I can’t say I regret missing it,” The Aburame said after a minute.

Kiba nodded in agreement. “That’s fair. I’m glad you missed it too, mostly because we finally got to meet your brother!” 

Torune ducked his head and hid a smile. He was pretty sure no one had ever been this excited to meet him.

“Do you have any siblings?” Torune asked. The Inuzuka clan was big on family ties and he figured Kiba either had siblings or cousins that were pseudo-siblings.

“I have an older sister, Hana. She’s pretty cool. A total mother hen sometimes, but still,” he shrugged as if to say “that’s sisters for you.”

“How about you, Hinata?” Torune asked.

“I have a little sister,” Hinata said and then sighed. “But sometimes she feels more like the big sister.”

Torune chuckled lightly. “I think i know the feeling.” Shino was too busy fiddling with a moth in his hair to hear.

Kiba snorted. “Hanabi’s a genius and just like Hana, but she’s also an enabler.”

Hinata made a noise of protest, but Kiba cut her off. “We’ve had to help you home from the training grounds several times and at least half of those were because you and Hanabi overdid it.”

Hinata didn’t even try to protest that. 

“Sakura pointed out that Naruto is legally my little brother and he gets really mad if we mention it,” Sasuke chimed in.

The other kids burst out laughing.

Torune’s eyes flickered to the Uchiha.

Sasuke was smirking. He caught Torune’s eyes and shrugged. Family doesn’t have to end with blood.

In the light of day, Torune saw the set of Sasuke’s jaw and the glint of steel in his dark eyes. Perhaps Uchiha were just made of stubborn things. Torune hadn’t know enough of them to say.

\---

They arrived in Konoha mid morning and the little group split up quickly. The Aburame were both itching to turn for home and as soon as Kurenai told Sasuke her kids would take care of the mission report the Uchiha was off at a steady jog towards Kakashi’s house.

Kurenai glanced at the 2 remaining genin. 

Kiba was giving her puppy dog eyes. 

Kurenai bit her lip. “We really should get started on the report,” she said.

Kiba nudged Hinata. 

Hinata looked up at Kurenai with wide, pleading eyes. “Maybe we could go shower and meet to write the report at lunch?”

Kurenai sighed. “You know someday the cute factor will wear off.”

Kiba snickered. “Not with you.”

Kurenai rolled her eyes. “I’ll grab some groceries on the way home and I expect to see you both by 1.”

Hinata nodded and Kiba gave a little salute, then the 2 kids were off and running before Kurenai could change her mind.

\---

Sasuke skidded to a stop on the street in front of Kakashi’s house. Nothing much had changed in the week he was gone. The lawn had been trimmed recently, but that was about it. 

He wasn’t much of a sensor, but he didn't need to be to know when Naruto was around. Sasuke grinned. He’d half expected to find the rest of team 7 off on a mission or at the training grounds.

Sasuke stayed on the street for just a heartbeat, soaking in the sunshine and the peace of the morning.  _ Feels good to be home. _ The nostalgia and longing that talking with Torune had stirred in Sasuke’s soul seemed to settle. This was his home and his family was inside.

Sasuke slipped in the front door and tugged off his sandals. He could hear Kakashi talking.

When Sasuke stepped into the kitchen, he had to stifle a laugh. 

Naruto was sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by textbooks and stacks of paper.

Kakashi was trying to explain trigonometry and arc lengths by waving around a kunai. 

Naruto had his chin resting on the table. His eyes were on Kakashi, but his expression said he was somewhere far far away.

Kakashi spotted Sasuke and grinned without breaking his monologue.

Sasuke slipped closer to the back of Naruto’s chair, careful to avoid the boards that squeaked. Then, Sasuke leaned over. “What are you learning?” he asked in Naruto’s ear.

Naruto jumped three feet and Sauske had to scramble back to avoid the blond’s falling chair. 

He wasn’t fast enough to avoid Naruto’s retaliation that was half hug and half tackle.

“No rough housing in the house,” Kakashi sighed as Naruto dragged Sasuke to the ground.

Sasuke tried to squirm out of Naruto’s grip, but the blond was clinging to him like he was afraid Sasuke was going to disappear.

“Don’t ever leave us again,” Naruto begged.

Sasuke just laughed. “Didn’t think you’d miss me that much.” He managed to yank an arm free and lightly tap Naruto’s forehead.

Naruto grinned and let go of Sasuke.

Sasuke climbed back to his feet and offered Naruto a hand up. 

Naruto took the hand and leaned in to whisper, “Kakashi got anxious about sending you off with someone else and overcompensated with our training. I’ve been doing math for 2 days. I don’t see how math is going to protect us.” 

Sasuke winced in sympathy and then glanced around. “Where’s Sakura?” He waited for her to pop out from behind one of Naruto’s stacks of textbooks.

“On a run with the ninken,” Naruto said.

A familiar chorus of barks and howls split the air. 

“Or at least she was.”

Sakura came staggering into the kitchen. Her long hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat and the dogs wove around her ankles with practiced ease. Sakura paid them no attention as she stalked across the kitchen towards Sasuke.

Sakura leveled a hard stare at the Uchiha and jabbed a finger at his chest. “If you ever leave us again, I’m going to find you and smack you so hard.”

Sasuke just blinked in surprise.

“They’re convinced you had a nice easy week,” Kakashi clarified. “We did an in depth skill assessment and I devised custom training plans.”

Sakura and Naruto both stared at Sasuke. 

“And?” Naruto finally prompted.

“I learned a lot from Kurenai-sensei.”

Naruto groaned.

Sakura punched Sasuke’s shoulder lightly and shook her head before heading towards the fridge and post workout snacks.

“Come on, let us live vicariously,” Naruto pleaded.

Sasuke glanced at Kakashi.

“We can take a break. I’m interested to see how team 8 compares,” the jounin shrugged. He was doing his best to sound uninterested and failing.

Team 7 migrated to the living room.

“Nice to have you back, pup,” Pakkun mumbled before hopping up on the couch and settling beside Kakashi. 

Sakura flopped down on the floor. Two of the ninken plopped down beside her. 

Naruto claimed the other end of the couch and Saskue settled on the floor when Bull looked at him with pleading eyes. The giant dog laid his head in Sasuke’s lap and only drooled a little as the Uchiha scratched behind his ears.

“It’s nice to be home,” Sasuke mumbled, more to himself than anyone else. 

Sasuke told the team about the hunt, the poker game, and the final fight. 

Naruto insisted on seeing the bruise Hinata left. “It does look like a pointy chin!”

“So do you learn a lot about genjutsu?” Sakura asked.

Sasuke nodded. “I’ve got a lot left to learn, but I think I’ll be comfortable enough to use it in the exams if we need it. Especially if I get some more practice.” 

“We’ll you’re not practicing on me!” Naruto announced.

Sasuke’s smile shifted to a smirk. “You wouldn’t be much of a challenge.”

“Rude!” Naruto grabbed the pillow off the arm of the couch and launched it at Sasuke’s head.

Sakura laughed and Kakashi hid a smile behind his hand.

\--- 

The closer they got to the Aburame compound, the more Shino relaxed his control on his insects. The moths in his hair rustled and poked their heads out to observe their new home. Shino grinned.

While his kids were gone, Shibi had taken to doing his paperwork from the dining room table, so that he could watch the road from town through the big window.

Shibi didn’t recognize Torune and Shino until they were almost to the house. In the bright, morning sun, they were little more than silhouettes and the gait patterns didn’t match his expectation.

Shino bouncing lightly on his toes, half giddy with excitement, wasn’t unexpected.

Torune’s relaxed posture and light steps made him almost unrecognizable.

Shibi met the kids at the door. “You’re back early,” he said with a grin. “I take that to mean you were successful?”

Shino nodded. “Very.” He patted his bag and the specimen jars inside clinked together softly. Then, Shino held out his hand to show off the caterpillar crawling across his palm.

“Muta will be so excited that someone else appreciates moths.” Shibi reached out to ruffle Shino’s hair.

Shino ducked quickly and for a heartbeat, Shibi thought he’d mistaken the sort of dangerous that Shino’s new colony was. 

“Don’t squish them,” Shino ordered and Shibi looked closer. He could see several dark moths now poking their heads out from Shino’s hair. They almost made it look like the kid had sprouted horns.

“I’ll be careful,” Shibi promised. He patted Shino’s head gently and then pulled him into a crushing hug.

“They eat poison,” Shino mumbled into his dad’s shoulder.

Shibi’s eyes widened and his gaze flickered to Torune. The teen had hung back a bit, but it wasn’t the sort of distance he usually kept. Torune’s face had color in it. There was no telltale purple stain peeking out from his collar. 

“They find the rinkaichuu and their poison quite tasty,” Torune added. There was a shy smile on his face.

Shibi let go of Shino and took one step towards Torune. He tilted his head slightly in a silent question.

Torune fiddled with his sleeve but nodded. 

When Shibi wrapped his arms around his oldest son, Torune tensed for a second before returning the hug and relaxing into Shibi’s grip.

Shibi’s vision blurred with tears, but he could see Shino absolutely beaming. Shibi reached out and tugged Shino into the hug too.

The 3 Aburame stayed like that on the front porch for a long minute before Torune reached his limit and began to shift uncomfortably. They broke apart smiling and trying to discreetly wipe away tears. 

“I think you 2 have a lot to catch me up on,” Shibi said. “But your mother will kill me if I don’t make you wait until she’s back from grocery shopping.”

The boys laughed.

“I’ll go start putting the specimens into terrariums,” Shino announced and ducked past his dad, leaving Shibi and Torune alone on the porch.

“How are you doing?” Shibi asked.

“Alright. About half of my colony was eaten by the moths along with the surplus poison store between the layers of my skin. It’ll take the rinkaichuu a while to rebuild the poison store, if I let them.” Torune looked down at his hands, at the way the light played across his skin, giving it a golden hue. “The colony is a much more manageable size. If I’m able to exert enough control in the coming weeks, it might stay this way indefinitely.”

Shibi nodded. There was no need to add that if the rinkaichuu got out of control again, Shino and his new colony would be there to help.

Torune looked up at Shibi. “Will you help me train?”

“Of course!”

Torune smiled a little wider. He was finally starting to let himself consider the possibilities that this development opened up. If he could gain full control of his colony, he could bond with them the way Aburame were supposed to, have a truly symbiotic relationship with the rinkaichuu. He could control where and how they stockpiled surplus poison. He could walk through a crowded market without fear and that was just the beginning. The freedom made Torune’s head spin.

Shibi nodded for Torune to join him sitting on the edge of the porch. “You look better,” Shibi said softly.

Torune just hummed. 

“How are you?” Shibi asked again.

“Good,” Torune said and then after a beat, “I think. It’s a lot to take in.” He pressed his palms to his thighs and swung his legs a bit. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s touched me without the intent to hurt me.”

Shibi winced. “Sorry. I didn’t think about that.”

Torune shook his head quickly. “Hugging is nice. Just for limited durations right now.”

Shibi nodded. “Getting used to physical contact will be hard. Remember, you get to set your own boundaries.”

Torune shifted closer until his shoulder brushed Shibi’s. 

The sun finished rising and the daylilies in the flowerbed opened their yellow mouths.

“I am good,” Torune said with more conviction. “I think I’m finally ready to let go of all the ghosts.”

In the bright light of day, the faces of everyone he’d killed and everyone he’d been unable save faded like morning mist. 

Torune rested his head on Shibi’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

Shibi gently put an arm around Torune’s shoulders.

This was everything Torune had wanted his whole childhood.

“I think I see your mother coming with the groceries,” Shibi said after a long minute. “We should probably go help her.”

Torune pulled away and climbed to his feet. “We’ll never hear the end of it if we don’t.”

\---

Hinata’s pace slowed to a walk as soon as she was out of Kurenai-sensei’s sight. Judging by the sun, she had a bit before Father and Hanabi would be home from training. There was plenty of time to enjoy the sunshine, maybe stop at the market and pick up something fresh for breakfast. Kami knew neither Father nor Hanabi were the sort to think about groceries until the fridge was empty.

Hinata stopped at the market closest to the compound. As she wandered the store with a small basket, a couple other Hyuga paused in their shopping to smile or bow slightly in her direction.

“Good morning,” Hinata returned the smiles and bows.

“Nice to have you home, Hinata-san,” a woman with her dark hair in a braid and the Hyuga’s telltale eyes said.

Hinata’s smile widened. Kimiko had watched her and Hanabi when they were small. “It’s nice to be home. How are the kids?”

“The boys are fussy and boisterous as ever and Amae’s such a good big sister. She was a little nervous about not being an only child anymore, but she fell in love with the twins like that.” Kimiko snapped her fingers for emphasis.

Hinata giggled. “Little siblings are like that.”

Kimiko’s smile faltered slightly. “I take it you haven’t been home yet?”

Hinata shook her head. “I figured I’d pick up some groceries and make breakfast for Father and Hanabi. They should still be training right now.”

Kimmiko stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Hanabi got in a fight 2 days ago. No one’s seen her outside since. I don’t know the details, but they had doctors over all afternoon yesterday and Grandmother says Hanbi’s right eye is all swollen shut.”

Hinata’s grip tightened on the handles of her basket, but she kept her face a mask of calm. “I’m sure Hanabi’s fine. She’s tougher than she looks.”

Kimiko nodded, but her frown was skeptical. “She’s a spitfire. Always gave me anxiety when I was watching the 2 of you.”

Hinata just smiled and hefted her half full basket. “I’d best finish up and get home.”

“Of course,” Kimiko did another little half bow and pushed her cart away.

Hinata grabbed some eggs, bread, and fresh fruit quickly. Then she made straight for the checkout. She wanted to hurry home, but forced herself to walk calmly through the Hyuga compound. She knew there were eyes on her, knew there were always eyes on her, and if she showed an ounce of panic or fear someone would start a rumor that Hanabi was dead or something.

The Hyuga compound was built in the traditional style, much like the Uchiha compound. The wooden buildings were raised slightly off the ground with a covered porch running the perimeter. The tiled roofs were a dull red in the sun. 

The main family’s home was much too large for 3 people. It was built in a ‘U” shape and between the arms of the “U” was a flower garden and a small training area. One arm of the “U” was closed off due to disuse. No point in taking the time to clean empty rooms. 

The kitchen was at the back of the “U” and surrounded by a vegetable garden. Hinata had spent a lot of her childhood barefoot in the vegetable garden with Fuji, the family’s old and patient gardener.

Today, Hinata just waved to Fuji as she kicked her shoes off at the kitchen door and slipped inside.  _ I’ll say hello later, _ she told herself. Fuji was one of the few staff Hiashi had kept on after his wife’s death. Privately, Hinata was sure it was because he’d been unable to watch her garden follow her into the afterlife.

They’d closed off the west wing and let everyone except Fuji and Yua go a month after Hinata’s mother passed. Yua lived with family, in a suite near the kitchen. Fuji had his own house a few blocks away. Yua was a kind woman in her late 50s. She’d retired from the Konoha hospital’s nursing division after the last war, “Too much sadness,” and never married despite spending her days off at a little cottage on the edge of the forest with a pretty woman from the Yamanaka clan.

Officially, Yua cleaned the inuse parts of the house and cooked on Saturdays when the clan heads met in Father’s study to discuss business. 

Unofficially, Yua was the female role model for Hiashi’s 2 girls. She enjoyed cooking and could most often be found in the kitchen. She taught Hinata to cook and showed both girls how to keep a house and sew. “Everyone should know how to feed themselves and maintain what they own,” Yua said. “The work of your own hands is something to be proud of.”

Yaa wasn’t in the kitchen when Hinata slipped inside. 

Hinata left the groceries on the counter and headed for the livingroom. If Hanabi and father weren’t there, she’d go check Hanabi’s room.

Hanabi was sitting at the dining room table, surrounded by homework.

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief and her little sister looked up.

Hanabi’s right eye was indeed swollen shut. It was a very impressive blackeye. That didn’t stop her from breaking into a wide grin.

“You’re home!” Hanabi scrambled out of her chair and wrapped her sister in a hug. 

“It was only a week,” Hinata teased as she returned the hug. 

Hanabi pulled away and sighed. “It was a really long week.” She didn’t look up to meet Hinata’s eyes.

Hinata reached out and gently lifted her sister’s chin. The blackeye was fresh. It was still the color of a black plum. As swollen as it was, Hinata wondered if maybe the orbital bone was cracked. 

“Please don’t start fussing,” Hanabi begged. “All everyone’s done for 2 days is fuss.” 

Hinata nodded and pulled her hand back. “Tell me about it?”

Hanabi sighed. “Yeah, but first I want to hear about your mission and before that I want to go find breakfast.”

Hinata smiled. “You’re in luck. I brought food.”

Hanabi’s face lit up.

Hanabi sat on a stool while Hinata scrambled eggs. She buttered the toast when Hinata passed it to her.

The sunlight coming in the window was warm and Hanabi situated her stool right in the sunbeam, like a cat.

The silence between the 2 sisters was easy.

Hinata hummed. 

Hanabi swung her legs, closed her eyes, and tilted her face towards the sun.

The smell of cooking food lured Hiashi out of his study. He poked his head into the kitchen, fully prepared to remind Yua she was supposed to have the day off. Instead he saw his 2 daughters.

Hiashi didn’t announce himself right away. Hinata had her back to him, fiddling with the stove, and Hanabi’s eyes were closed. They both looked so at ease it sent a sharp pain of regret and longing through his heart. So rarely did he get to see them like this. 

The pressures of the main line were a heavy weight on all 3 of them and Hiashi knew he’d made mistakes, both as a clan head and as a father. They both reminded him so much of their mother. 

Hinata cracked an egg against the counter and Hanabi opened her eyes.

“Good morning, Father,” Hanbai said quickly.

Hinta turned and smiled at Hiashi. “Hello, Father.”

“You’re back early,” Hiashi said to Hinata. He hoped she could hear the pride in his voice.

Hinata nodded. “It was a very straight forward mission.”

“I look forward to hearing about it.”

Hinata nodded and went back to cooking.

“Did you finish your homework?” Hiashi asked Hanabi. His voice was soft, not accusatory, an apology for sterner words the last few days.

Hanabi ducked her head. “Almost. Just a few more math problems. It won’t take very long.”

“When did you start this morning?” Hiashi asked, hating the stiffness in Hanabi’s shoulders and they wey she hid her black eye behind a curtain of darker hair.

  
“Early. I may not be allowed to train until my eye heals, but I want to preserve my routine.”

Hiashi taught his daughters to speak formally and guard their emotions behind a mask of polite smiles and silver eyes. Before they could really walk, he started to teach them how to navigate the political atmosphere of the Hyuga clan. It had been his way of trying to protect them. Now, years later, he was reaping the benefits of being a clan head first and a father second. 

“Admirable, but some rest would do you good.”

Hanabi just dipped her head in acknowledgment.

Hinata frowned into the pan of scrambled eggs. The air between Father and Hanabi was more tense than usual. She took a deep breath, pasted on an easy smile, and picked up the pan. 

“Breakfast is ready.”

The 3 Hyuga ate at the dining room table. It was too big for 3, so they clustered at one end.

Hanabi picked at her food and Hiashi nudged Hinata to tell them about her mission.

Hinata was relieved to have an excuse to break the silence. She told them about working with Sasuke, their sparring match and the way they’d evaluated each others’ eyes. She left out being taught to cheat at poker. She told them about tracking Eiji to the bamboo groves and using bursts of chakra to snap the talks. 

Hiashi nodded and smiled as his daughter described matching the Uchiha blow for blow. That boded well for her chances in the upcoming chuunin exam. 

When Hinata described the assault on Eiji’s camp, Hiashi’s smile widened. He could all but see the man’s terrified face. “It sounds like your chakra reserves are increasing nicely,” Hiashi said.

Hinata beamed. 

“Kurenai-sensei has been good for you. If you can similarly improve your precision and control, you’ll be a real force.” Hiashi bit back an offer to help. He’d lost the right to train her a long time ago. He’d pushed too hard and he knew she would never improve under his tutelage. Anxiety was the enemy of a Hyuga. Their techniques required one to be like the eye of a hurricane, calm and controlled. 

“Hinata’s control’s improved a lot, too,” Hanabi chimed in. She shot her father a glare across the table.

Hinata winced. They’d definitely gotten into a fight.

Hiashi just nodded. “I’m sure it has. I look forward to seeing it in the exams.”

Hanabi glanced at her sister. “We’ll both be cheering for you.” Then Hanabi stood up, collected the empty plates, and headed for the kitchen.

Hiashi stared at his older daughter across the table. “I’m glad your mission went well and you’re home,” he said softly.

Hinata nodded. 

“And I am proud of how you’ve improved.”

Hinata smiled then and Hiashi recognized it as a real smile, not the polite ones he’d taught her to use to placate clan elders.

“Hanabi’s having a hard time right now. She won’t talk to me about why she picked a fight with one of her classmates, but I assume she’’ll tell you?”

Hinata just shrugged.

“If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

Hinata nodded and made no promises. Sisters keep each other's secrets afterall.

They made small talk for a couple more minutes before Hiashi thanked Hinata for breakfast and excused himself back to his study. With the exams coming up, the clan heads were meeting more and more often to discuss security measures and distribute jobs.

Hinata went back to the kitchen to help Hanabi clean up and found her little sister scrubbing away tears.

“Be gentle,” Hinata ordered. “You’ll hurt your eye.”

Hanabi’s shoulders shook a little harder and she didn’t fight when Hinata took the handkerchief from her hand and gently wiped the new tears away.

“Sometimes I think all we are to this clan and this village is eyes,” Hanabi whispered.

Hinata sighed and pulled Hanabi into a tight hug. “That’s not true,” Hinata promised.

“But it feels like it.”

“Father just wants us to be strong enough to protect ourselves.”

“What about the elders?”

Hinata hesitated. Defending their father was one thing, but the clan elders were something else entirely. “The clan elders are wise in the ways of the past,” Hinata said.

Hanabi heard the venom under her sister’s words. “But foolish in the ways of the present and ignorant of the ways of the future,” she mumbled into Hinata’s shoulder.

Hinata just rubbed circles on Hanabi’s back and held her until the tears stopped.

“How about some hot chocolate?” Hinata asked. 

“Yes please.”

The 2 girls sat on the porch overlooking the vegetable garden and Hanabi fished half melted marshmallows out of her mug. 

“What happened?” Hinata asked at last.

“Stupid kid in my class. I kicked his butt in sparring and after school he said the only reason I was any good was because of my eyes,” Hanabi mumbled. “I told him I’d kick his butt again without the byakugan and I did.”

Hinata hid a smile behind her hand.

“Oh stop trying to be a good role model,” Hanabi swung her leg and kicked Hinata’s foot lightly. “Like you totally didn’t beat the crap out of the kid who attacked Naruto that one time.”

Hinata blushed.

“I got home and everyone freaked out. Turns out one of my orbital bones is cracked. Healing jutsus are risky around all the chakra networks, so they didn’t do a whole lot to it. I’m going to be fine, but everyone was up in arms about me risking my eyes,” Hanabi explained.

“You’re going to be the clan head, so of course they worry,” Hinata said.

Hanabi snorted. “Yeah, about that…”

“What did you do?” There was a hint of fear in Hinata’s voice. 

“Told them it doesn’t matter if I lose the byakugan in one eye, because I’m going to go to medical school after the academy and also I’m never going to get married or have kids, so the main line can die with me.” Hanabi said it without a hint of emotion, but her visible eye glinted in the sunlight and there was a stubborn crease between her eyebrows.

Hinata spat hot chocolate. “You’re 8.”

Hanabi grinned. “That’s what father tried to tell the elders. It didn’t calm them down very much. I thought grandfather’s head was going to explode.”

Hinata shook her head. 

“And then I got the lecture of all lectures from Grandfather.” Hanabi sipped her hot chocolate and stared out at the horizon. “All the usual stuff about respecting tradition, but the bit about being arrogant and selfish was new.”

Hinata didn’t know what to say to that.

“Father did step in at the end and tell Grandfather that it was enough and I needed rest.”

Hinata narrowed her eyes.

“And he did bake me a whole loaf of banana bread and leave it outside my door that night, which I think was his way of apologizing for Grandfather?” Hanabi added. “I know it was him, because it was a little bit burned and Yua never burns the bread.”

Hinata leaned against her sister and Hanabi leaned back. “You should talk to father,” Hinata said softly.

“You first,” Hanabi muttered.

“I’m going to after the exam.” There was a hint of fire in Hinata’s voice and it startled Hanabi. “I’m going to ask him to train me again.”

Hanabi’s eyes widened. “Why not ask before the exam?”

“I want everyone to see how much I’ve improved without them. I want to show them that I didn’t give up and that I’m not a lost cause.” 

“Good,” Hanabi declared. “The elders are all idiots and father is too.”

Hinata elbowed Hanabi.

Hanbi snickered and then sighed. “If you’re that brave, I guess I have to be brave too.”

Hinata showered and then left for Kurenai’s apartment.

Hanabi finished her homework and then wandered over to her father’s study. She stood outside the closed door for a long time and just as she turned to leave without knocking, the door opened.

“I was just coming to find you,” Hiashi said. “I’m starving and the exam plans are giving me a headache. Want to go get lunch? Maybe help me look over some of these plans, if you are done studying?” 

“There’s not much for food in the house. Hinata just brought things for breakfast.”

“I heard there’s a new teriyaki place that’s good?” Hiashi offered.

Hanabi nodded. “I’ll get my shoes.”

Seated in a little booth, with a big plate of teriyaki chicken and tempura vegetables, Hanabi relaxed. Outside of the clan compound, no one stared at her blackeye.

“So medical school?” Hiashi started.

Hanabi’s face hardened and Hiashi recognized the stubborn set of her chin. 

“When your mother used to make that face, the elders would start panicking.”

Hanabi’s jaw dropped. 

Hiashi raised an eyebrow.

“You never talk about mom.”

“Another thing I owe you an apology for,” Hiashi admitted. His voice was soft. 

“You miss her a lot, still?” Hanabi asked. 

Hiashi nodded. “A little less as the years go on. Mostly because the older you get the more you remind me of her. Both of you do.”

They lapsed into silence.

“So med school?” Hiashi tried again.

This time, Hanabi cracked a smile. “I meant it. Medicine’s come a long way since the last Hyuuga who worked as a doctor. Imagine how useful it would be for a surgeon to have our eyes? Our chakra control?”

Hiashi hummed thoughtfully. “Where’d this interest come from?”

“We had a guest lecturer from the hospital and it was interesting, so I did my own research. Did you know the new chakra scalpel technique they’re using is really similar to gentle fist?”

“I didn’t. That’s very interesting.”

“I’m still planning on serving as a shinobi, at least for a while. Lots of people do their medical training alongside their genin training. I wouldn’t have to decide between being a field medic and staying with my team or focusing on surgery and staying at the hospital for a couple years at least,” Hanabi offered it as an olive branch. “Probably make chuunin before I have to decide.”

“Good to know. I may be able to talk your grandfather out of giving himself a heart attack with that,” Hiashi teased, gently. The clan head had been a jounin as long as the title of jounin existed. They were expected to have the skills and experience to protect the clan.

“Grandpa makes funny faces when he’s mad.”

Hiashi shook his head. “Would you believe it if I said he’s actually mellowed out in his old age?” 

“So, does this mean I’m not disowned?” Hanabi asked with just a hint of hesitation.

“I wouldn’t let the clan do that,” Hiashi promised. 

  
Hanabi glanced away.

“Hinata’s not disowned. She’s removed from the line of succession. It’s a big difference.”

Hanabi kept her eyes on her plate.

“Hey, look at me,” Hiashi ordered softly.

Hanabi finally looked up. 

“Things are changing. It’s slow, but it’s happening. I know I haven’t been there for the 2 of you like I should have, but I swear on my life that you and your sister will have the freedom I didn’t. If you want to be a doctor, I’ll make sure the clan isn’t in your way.”

Hanabi curled her hands into fists on the table and fought to hold back tears. “That’s not good enough. You have to do better,” she whispered. “Maybe I am selfish, but…”

Hiashi reached across the table and took Hanabi’s hands in his. “Grandfather won’t be observing our training sessions anymore. I made it clear that since he stepped down as clan head, the discipline of clan members is no longer his responsibility. I should have done that sooner.”

Hanabi squeezed her dad’s hands.

“And you’re not selfish or arrogant or anything else. You’re smart and kind and maybe it’s time for the clan to be led by someone who knows a thing or 2 about healing.”

Hanabi nodded. “Okay.”

Hiashi closed his eyes. It was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Hyuga clan chapters is always a bit rough. The clan's a mess in canon and Hiashi desperately needs an actual redemption arc/fleshed out backstory and motives. The whole, canon situation where he suddenly decides to start caring about Neji after ignoring him for ~10 years isn't good enough for me, but there's a fine line between unpacking that disaster and making all the adults in the clan unredeemable. It's a fun challenge.


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning, Hinata woke up early.

Hanabi was standing beside her bed, poking her shoulder.

“Want to go training?” Hanabi whispered.

Hinata narrowed her eyes. “You definitely aren’t cleared to train,” she mumbled around a yawn.

“I won’t be doing much, just correcting you. I helped Father with the security plans for the chuunin exam yesterday. We’ve only got a couple weeks.”

Hinata sighed, but sat up and swung her feet off the bed.

Hanabi grinned.

The 2 Huyga walked through the cool, predawn air. Dew clung to their feet, just a few degrees shy of frost.

The sun slipped over the mountains as they arrived at the training grounds.

The training grounds weren’t as empty as expected. A trio of shinobi cast long shadows as they danced around each other.

Hinata and Hanabi hesitated on the edge of the field and watched. It was a 2 on 1 sparring match and the 1 fought with a very distinctive style.

“Cousin’s team is good,” Hanabi said softly.

Hinata nodded.

Both sisters sharpened their eyes and watched closely.

The Hyuga blocked a flurry of kicks from another boy and danced away from a barrage of kunai and shuriken thrown by the girl. His movements were fluid and graceful. 

The other boy was obviously faster and frustrated that it didn’t seem to make a difference as he flickered almost invisible around the Hyuga.

The Hyuga used his opponents’ momentum against them. Every step and strike was efficient. It balanced the scales and let him match the faster boy blow for blow.

The girl was more calculated in her approach. It was obvious she knew the Hyuga’s blindspot and was trying to use that to her advantage while he shifted and twisted to block the other boy.

“Come on,” the Hyuga growled.

The other 2 shinobi nodded and came at him with everything.

The girl used a summoning scroll to rain weapons from all sides. 

The boy vanished between strikes, too fast to track even with the byakugan.

The Hyuga waited in a cat stance, loose, calm, and ready to move. In the instant before the barrage hit him, he widened his stance and a whirlwind of chakra surrounded him.

Weapons scattered. 

The other boy was knocked back.

“Thats…” Hanabi trailed off in awe. “He’s very good.”

Hinata smiled slightly. “Yes.” She stepped onto the field.

Hanabi lunged and grabbed her sister’s hand. “We shouldn’t interrupt,” she said it almost pleadingly.

Hinata narrowed her eyes. “I was just going to say good morning.”

“And get skewered?” Hanabi raised an eyebrow.

Hinata frowned. The other Hyuga was still deflecting attacks. Kunai ricocheted off his defense. “We can wait until they’re done,” she relented.

Hanabi shook her head and dug her heels in, holding Hinata back. “Let’s just go to a different training ground.”

Hinata stopped pulling. “Cousin got in a fight with the elders didn’t he?” she asked softly.

Hanabi sighed and let go of Hinata’s hand. “Yeah. Like I said, it was a long week. Someone saw him trying to replicate the main house jutsus and punished him.”

Hinata started down at the ground and her fists clenched in anger. “It’s not fair.”

“I know and so does Father. He actually fought with the clan elders about it and got them to agree that if Neji can figure out the jutsus on his own, then he should be free to use them.”

That made Hinata’s eyes widen. Hiashi usually stayed away from his nephew, leaving the boy to his grandfather’s tutelage.

Neji slipped and one of the girl’s shuriken made it through his guard. It clipped his shoulder and he fell off balance. The storm of chakra around him vanished. The jutsu wasn’t perfect yet. 

“Again,” Neji hissed even as he pressed his hand to his arm to staunch the bleeding.

The other 2 shinobi with him both looked hesitantly. 

“I’m close. Somethings, just not quite right,” Neiji’s voice softened. “Just one more time, please.”

The girl shrugged and stepped back into an aggressive stance. The other boy followed suit.

Hinata and Hanabi turned towards another training ground. 

Hinata watched Neji and his team train until they were lost in the trees and her staring would be obvious.

Under Hanabi’s watchful gaze, Hinata went through her forms. She wasn’t as fast as Hanabi, but she’d come a long way in terms of grace and power.

Hanabi remembered not so long ago when Hinata’s forms were full of missteps and fumbled footwork, now she moved with confidence. 

She danced lightly on the balls of her feet and the loose fabric of her jacket and pants cracked with each strike.

Hanabi watched the chakra gather on her sister’s fingertips and disperse between each imaginary blow.

“Reduce the number points you’re releasing chakra from,” Hanabi ordered. “You’re spreading the impact out too much.”

Hinata nodded and began again.

They drilled for an hour before Hinata had to leave to meet her team and Hanabi needed to go to class.

“Try not to get in any fights,” Hinata teased.

“If a butt needs kicking, who am I to decline?” Hanabi said sweetly. Her tone didn’t match the smirk on her face. The blackeye gave her a mischievous look.

Hinata just sighed.

\---

That night, when the house had been quiet for an hour and father had retired to his room after a late meeting, Hinata slipped out of bed. She padded through the house in stocking feet, silent on the hardwood.

The closet in her father’s study was more than it appeared. 

Hinata moved aside blank scrolls and spare ink pots, shifted leather bound books of poetry and history, and felt along the high shelf for a hidden switch.

With a soft click, the shelves slid left into the wall, revealing another set of shelves full of scrolls.

Hinata scanned the shelves, looking for her name etched on the end cap. 

When each Hyuga heir turned 10 they were presented with the clan’s original scroll. 2 feet wide and 15 feet long, it detailed all of the main house jutsus, the history of the clan, and the family trees. It was the expectation that in the following year, the heir would create their own copy of the scroll. At the end of the year, the original scroll was returned to a secret hiding place known only to current and past clan heads.

Hinata had copied the original onto 6 more manageable sized scrolls. The history and the family tree weren’t what she needed now. The first scroll of jutsu were ones she was familiar with. It detailed the forms she and Hanabi practiced that morning. The second scroll of jutsu was beyond Hinata. 

It took Hinata several minutes to find the scroll she was looking for. Hinata’s scrolls had been moved to a box on the bottom shelf. When Hanabi made her own copy in a few years, Hinata expected her’s would be destroyed.

For now, Hinata felt good about taking the one scroll of her own. No one would miss it. 

Hinata cracked the seal to check that she had the right scroll and smiled. She wasn’t anywhere near ready to learn either of the clan’s eight trigram jutsu, but she knew someone who was. Someone who could look at this scroll and know exactly how to do it. He’d almost figured it out without any help as it was.

Hinata rehid the scrolls and replaced everything in the closet. Then she slipped out of the house on stocking feet and only paused to tug on her sandals when she was away from the porch light. 

The dew soaked her feet and the night was cool. The moon hung, full and bright in the sky. It painted the world silver. 

Hinata loved the quiet hours between late night and early morning. It felt like the world was holding its breath in anticipation. Time seemed to stretch and everything felt possible when the rest of the world closed their eyes in sleep.

Neji lived in a small house on the edge of the clan compound, built in the same traditional style as the rest of the compound. 

It wasn’t the house he’d grown up in. He’d refused to go back there after his father was killed. Instead, he’d moved in with their Great Aunt Himari.

Hinata knew the house well enough. She’d helped deliver groceries often when she was younger. Aunt Himari always had flowers on the dining room table and a bowl of hard candy for the many kids who called her Auntie. 

Despite the divide between the branches and the main line, the Hyuga clan took care of their own. No one went hungry. The sick were treated and those who couldn’t care for themselves were like the children of the whole clan. 

There were no lights on and with her byakugan, Hinata could see the glow of her cousin’s chakra, dimmed by exhaustion. He was sleeping deeply. 

Hinata steeled herself and gently tried the front door. It slid open almost silently in it’s well oiled track. 

Hinata fed her eyes a bit more chakra to combat the darkness in the house as she looked around the small front room. She hadn’t been here in 2 years, not since Aunt Himari passed. 

The house had changed less than she expected.

The front room felt smaller than she remembered it being. The dining table was mostly covered by a half finished mission report and a map of Wind Country, but the vase hadn’t moved far. It had a home on the bookshelves that lined one wall and the daisies in it were looking a little sad, but no more than a few days old.

Hinata recognized many of the books that crowded the rest of the shelves. They ranged from children's books to collections of poetry to historical records and novels. 

Hinata considered tucking the scroll on the middle shelf, right at eye level. It would have good company between an illustrated book of Basho’s poetry and  _ The Littlest Rabbit _ . 

The dust on the top of the books made her hesitate. While the shelf was kept clean, it was obvious few books ever left the shelves. She wanted Neji to find the scroll. There wasn’t a lot of time until the chuunin exams.

Hinata glanced around the room, looking for some other place to put the scroll where only Neji would find it. Something about the room felt off. 

Hinata shrugged the sensation off and stepped further into the house. 

Off the front room was a small, but tidy kitchen with a sliding door that opened to a little plot of land and a garden. Standing in the kitchen, Hinata had the same sense of wrongness. Something was missing, but she couldn’t place what. 

A mug was set out on the counter with a bag of tea already in it. The electric kettle next to the mug was full and waiting for its owner to flip the switch. 

Out of curiosity, Hinata stepped closer. She could smell lavender and it made her smile. Her earliest memory was of sitting in her Grandmother’s kitchen drinking lavender chamomile while the cookies were in the oven. Neji was a year older than her. Hinata wondered if he associated the tea with the same sort of warmth and contentment that she did.

This close, Hinata could see that the mug was well worn and equally loved. The glaze on the handle was perilously thin from use and at one point the mug had cracked. Maybe it had been dropped, but the damage was so carefully repaired that the remaining crack was almost invisible. The only decoration on the white ceramic was a stylized version of the kanji for peace.

Hinata wondered if Neji had repaired it himself. She imagined he had the steady hands and discipline for the job.

From the kitchen, Hinata poked her head in the small bedroom that had once been Neji’s. No longer a little kid, she could recognize it as a large closet. Neji appeared to have returned it to its original purpose. 

The actual bedroom was down a small hall and across from the bathroom. Hinata wasn’t bold enough to try the break into her cousin’s room. In the hallway, Neji had put up a couple of hooks on the wall for coats to hang and Hinata spotted his backpack on the ground underneath them.

Hinata slipped the scroll into Neji’s bag and made her retreat.

Only once she was out of the house did she realize what was missing from the house. There were no pictures. The only personal touches were the hand-me-down vase, half dead flowers, and plain mug. 

Hinata stopped and looked back down the street. The house looked lonely, the sort of lonely that sunk into your bones if you spent too long wrapped in its quiet embrace. For a heartbeat, Hinata considered turning back. She could put on the kettle and wake her cousin with tea. In the early hours of the morning, when the eyes of the clan were off them, maybe they could talk. Really talk.

Hinata shook her head and made herself keep walking towards her own home. Her hands shook a little, like they always did when she was close to Neji. At least time had blurred his face in her nightmares. Not for the first time, Hinata was glad that the byakugan didn’t burn all it saw into the mind the way the sharingan did. Better to imagine a faceless blur crushing her heart than see her cousin’s face full of rage and pain and so much grief as he tried to kill her. 

_ No, _ Hinata thought. She really wasn’t naive enough to think Neji would appreciate her showing up at his house in the middle of the night. 

Hinata slipped off her shoes and made her way back to her room. Moonlight slipped in her window and painted everything silver.

Hinata paused for a moment and looked around. The walls were a pale pink. She’d begged to paint her room when she was little. Father had said no. Mother had come home with buckets of paint. 

Hinata couldn’t remember her mother’s face anymore, but she thought she could remember her smile and the little flecks of pink paint on her cheeks.

Hinata’s room had changed little over the years. She had her mother’s jewelry box on her dresser.  _ The Littlest Rabbit _ was still in a place of prominence on her bookshelf and a well loved stuffed rabbit made its home on her nightstand. It’d been years since she’d last read the book. Her copy was no doubt as dusty as Neji’s. The only new addition to the room in recent years was a picture of Team 8, tucked in the corner of her mirror.

The quiet seemed to drape itself over Hinata’s shoulders like a shawl. She yawned and climbed back into bed. 

\---

Hinata’s alarm went off too early. She groaned and flailed for the nightstand without unburrying her face from the pillow. She really wanted to go back to sleep. She could get in at least another hour and still make it to training with Kurenai-sensei.

Instead, Hinata counted to 10 and heaved herself upright. There was work to be done.

Hanabi was still sleeping. She’d been up late working on homework.

Hinata rolled her shoulders to get the sleep out of her muscles as she made her way to the training ground. She was earlier than she’d been the day before and the grassy field was empty.

Hinata stretched and started on her forms. It was meditative. Her breathing was controlled and she was hyper aware of her body, of the way her muscles tensed and relaxed as she flowed between stances, of the way chakra tingled underneath her skin. 

The sound of someone clapping shattered the morning stillness and Hinata’s concentration. She stumbled and then abandoned the form to glance around.

Neji was leaning against a tree, watching her with a telltale glow of chakra around his eyes. 

Since his byakugan was active, Hinata didn’t bother to deactivate hers, as would be polite.

“A beautiful rendition of a level 1 form,” Neji said. His voice was light and polite, but the way his mouth twisted around the words betrayed his true intent. He smirked for just a heartbeat before composing his face in the neutral mask that he’d learned just like her and Hanabi.

Hinata couldn’t stop herself from ducking her head and she realized her hands were in a defensive position in front of her chest, but she took a quick breath and forced herself to meet her cousin’s eyes. “Thank you.” Her voice was just as steady and polite as his. She wondered if that disappointed him or impressed him. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have bothered to say anything.

“You have the gentle grace of a dancer,” Neji added. “Only you could make a combat exercise look like ballet.”

“Thank you,” Hinata repeated. She wanted to say, “speed and power follow grace.” She wanted to ask him to spar, to show him the strength she’d found since the last time they stood opposite each other. The words wouldn’t come out.

Neji snorted and pushed himself away from the tree. He saw the way Hinata kept her arms in front of her. “In the chuunin exam, you’ll be fighting something a bit more solid than the morning mist,” he bowed slowly, making a show of it. “But I’m sure that as the eldest daughter of the main family, you might as well be fighting the mist.”

Hinata frowned. She wanted to say, “It’s too early for double meanings. Just call me weak if that’s what you want to say.” Her shoulders sagged and she sighed.

Neji smiled at the way she seemed to shrink. He stepped past Hinata, close enough that their shoulders brushed. He stopped just behind her. “Forgive my bluntness and consider a favor. I fear no one else will be honest with you. I’ve watched you your whole life. You’ve been sheltered from the day you were born. You shouldn’t enter the chuunin exam to sooth your father’s wounded pride. You’re a danger to your team. These aren’t the sort of fights where they can protect you and watch their own backs.”

Hinata’s hands clenched into fists and he held them tight against her chest. Tears blurred her eyes, but her breathing remained even. 

When Hinata didn’t say anything, Neji kept walking.

Hinata waited until he was long gone before relaxing her arms and wiping the tears off her cheeks. She swallowed hard and restarted her form.

Hinata couldn’t find the meditative calm of before. Her throat burned with anger, so rather than swallowing it down she let it out with her breath and felt it spread under her skin with her chakra. She let her anger bleed out with every strike until the anger was gone and only its source remained.

Hinata could feel the weight of her clan pressing on her shoulders. The injustice of it all clung to her bones, weighing her down.  _ It’s not fair. _

Hinata finished her forms and turned to a training target. The old stump had once been a huge tree. When the village expanded the training grounds, they’d left its stump 6 feet high and tied a set of padded targets around it.

Punch.  _ It’s not fair.  _

Hinata saw through Neji’s sneer. He hadn’t changed anymore than his house had. He was still scared and angry and hurting. And why should he be anything different? He was trapped in a system that saw him as expendable.

Kick.  _ It’s not fair. _

Neji deserved to be angry. He was treated like a tool, something the main family owned, instead of a skilled shinobi, worthy of recognition and worthy of his own life. The elders would never let him forget the circumstances of his birth, because they were afraid of what he could become should he shed that weight.

Elbow strike.  _ It’s not fair. _

Hinata’s mind shifted from her cousin. She wondered how many times the same words had been thrown at them. How often were they both told that they weren’t enough, that they would never be enough?

Roundhouse.  _ Someday I’ll make the world be fair. _

The same people who feared Neji’s skill feared her. Feared that just like her cousin she could upend the system. “She doesn’t have the spine to lead. Her heart’s too soft.” Grandfather had said when she was 7, the day after the incident with Neji. She’d cried when he crumpled to the ground clutching his head. That image was burned in her mind as if she had Sasuke’s eyes.

Palm heel strike. 

Something in Hinata roared. The chakra around her hand flickered solid and cool against her skin like a gust of winter wind. Her hand connected with the target and the stump shattered. 

It sounded like the first gust of wind from a summer storm slamming into the house, the sort of wind that shook the foundations and made the walls groan. It only lasted a second and in the silence that followed, Hinata stared down at her hand. The cloak of chakra around her hand was malleable and loose. It had solidified in the same way your muscles tense in the moment a strike connects. 

Slowly, a smile spread across Hinata’s face. It felt like gentle fist, but it wasn’t the sort of chakra strike her father or Hanabi used. It felt like progress in more ways than one.

\---

The sun was sinking lower in the sky, casting everything in a golden light, as Sasuke and Naruto raced through the streets. 

“Need me to slow down?” Naruto asked between breaths. He threw a wild grin to his right.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “If we go any slower, we’re going to be late.”

Naruto laughed. “Shino won’t start without us.”

“We wouldn’t have to worry about that if you hadn’t taken forever to get dressed.”

“Hey! First impressions are important,” Naruto said with mock indignation.

“You do realize they’re bugs, right?”

“They’re Shino’s bugs. They’re not your average bug,” Naruto lectured.

“So you can tell his beetles apart from ordinary ones, now?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

“Nope.” 

Sasuke groaned. “You are an idiot.”

  
“But I’m your idiot.”

Sasuke huffed and mumbled under his breath, “Must make me an idiot too.”

The pair made it to the park just as the sun sank behind the mountains, leaving the sky the color of peach blossoms. They were the last to arrive.

Shino was sitting cross legged in the grass with the rest of the gang around him.

Hinata leaned on Kiba, almost dozing off.

Akamaru was begging for belly rubs from Ino and Sakura.

Shikamaru was laying on his stomach, watching the rest of the group with an easy smile.

When Naruto plopped down beside Choji and Sasuke settled beside Kiba, the Akamichi dumped his backpack on the ground and distributed the snacks. 

“Sorry we’re late,” Sasuke apologized. “Naruto pulled a Kakashi. Got lost on the road of life somewhere between the bathroom and his closet.”

The other kids snickered.

Shino shook his head. “You didn’t miss anything. I’m waiting for it to get a little darker.” 

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Shino smirked. “It needs to be at least a little bit dark for maximum impact.”

“Dramatic much?” Kiba teased.

Hinata punched Kiba’s arm. “Let him have this.”

As the sky faded to a dusty lavender and the first stars winked to life, the kids talked. 

Stories were told. 

Kiba had them all in stitches as he described shoving a pair of aces in his mouth.

Ino demanded Sasuke teach them how to cheat at poker.

“Who needs to cheat, just count the cards,” Shikamaru mumbled.

“Dude, that is cheating,” Naruto snickered.

“Oh,” Shikamaru ran a hand through his hair. “I just assumed everyone else was really bad at paying attention.”

“We should have a game night,” Kiba declared. 

Naruto grinned. “Sure, but I refuse to play poker with any of you.”

“I still don’t know the rules,” Hinata said. “To poker or really any other games.”

“Seriously,” Kiba said, “We should have a game night. You can all come over to my house. We have all sorts of games for clan get togethers and I can teach you. I’m sure we can find something that has enough luck involved to slow Shika down and requires enough thinking to keep Naruto from winning it without realizing.”

Shikamaru tossed a twig at Kiba. “Rude.”

The sky darkened to deep blue and the moon rose, silver and bright but not quite full.

“Ready?” Shino asked.

Eight pairs of eyes locked on him.

In the dark, they didn’t see the moths crawl out of his sleeves and emerge from his hair.

All at once, Shino was surrounded by dancing lights. They were a warm, buttery yellow that Shino associated with delicate fungi, ripe wheat, and the harvest moon. It was the color of his chakra.

The other kids gasped. 

“I call them Chiyogamiga,” Shino said and he couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice.

On silent wings, the moths left the space around Shino to greet their new allies.

The boldest landed on Naruto’s nose and the blond froze. He held his breath as the insect found its footing. Its wings brushed his cheeks, feather soft, before it folded them and he let himself breath.

Everyone stared at Naruto.

Shino leaned forward expectantly.

The moth’s color shifted so fast it seemed like it caught on fire. From the pale yellow of Shino’s chakra it flashed ruby red, the color of a storm filled sunrise, and then painfully golden yellow, like the sun on a summer day. The colors rolled over its wings in a blinding display before the color settled to a vibrant orange.

Shino laughed. “It suits you.”

Naruto’s eyes were wide. They reflected the moth’s light as he tried to focus on the end of his nose. “They’re magical,” Naruto breathed.

No one disagreed.

Hinata held out her hand and the moth that landed there glowed the palest purple, almost silver.

The others followed Hinata’s lead and held out their hands.

The moth that landed on Sasuke’s wrist turned a deep blue, like the color between stars, barely luminous.

The moth on Ino’s hand turned an icy blue, clear and bright.

Shikamaru grinned as a light brown moth, the color of a fawn’s pelt in the sunlight, crawled around his head

Kiba and Amakaru were both covered in garnet colored moths. They settled in the soft fur and hair.

Choji offered a rosy pink moth a potato chip. The moth probed it with its tongue, tasting the salt.

Other than Kiba, Sakura was the only one who drew multiple moths to her. Her bare arms were covered in emerald green moths and she couldn’t stop smiling. Their feet tickled.

Shino leaned back and watched the delight, surprise, and wonder on his friends’ faces. 

The night grew darker, the moon inched higher, and the moths seemed to glow brighter. They left the kids to explore the park, filling the night with luminescent jewels.

Shino grinned. He didn’t say anything, but he knew the moths would never forget the chakras they’d sampled. No matter what the future brought, Shino would be able to hold onto his friends, his family. No matter where life took them, he could find them.

The moths returned to Shino. Their color shifted back to the warm glow of his chakra and then their glow faded as they returned to their hiding places in his clothes.

Sakura wiped her eyes with the heel of her palm and noticed the others doing the similar.

“So I can’t top that, but how about game night at my house?” Kiba asked. He grinned at Shino and the Aburame all but preened.

The other kids nodded and everyone climbed to their feet.

The gang of genin followed Kiba through the streets while he tried to explain various games to Hinata. “We can play so many things with this many people. It’s always easier to find something for a group than it is for 2 people.”

Hinata nodded. She knew that from experience.

In the middle of the group, Shino was still smiling. The chill of the night couldn't touch the warmth in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the pre-chuunin exam arc! I can't commit to a regular update schedule right now, but I'm going to do my best not to leave you guys on any really bad hard cliff hangers, so I might not post until I've got a couple chapters written and then post them in small batches. I'll put a note at the top of the chapters that says something like, "posted in a batch with chapters X,Y,Z" so you know where you left off. As always, thanks for reading. Stay safe!


	17. Chapter 17

Kakashi woke to a familiar tapping at his window. He reached for the nightstand and sat up with a frown when his hand found only wood instead of a cold ceramic mask. 

_ Stupid. Haven’t been anbu for years. _

The tapping continued.

Kakashi shoved himself upright and scrubbed the sleep from his eyes. 

There was a message hawk perched on the window ledge. It tipped its head to the side and gave Kakashi a cold stare through the glass.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kakashi mumbled as he reached for the latch. “I know, you’ve probably got breakfast waiting for you back at the mews.”

The hawk chirped softly and shifted so Kakashi could get the scroll off its back. It didn’t wait for a reply before it took off.

Kakashi groaned. That meant this was the sort of thing he had to respond to in person.

The scroll was an immediate summons to the Hokage’s office. Either they were under attack or the chuunin exams were about to be officially announced.

Kakashi rolled out of bed and dressed in silence. It was early. The sun wasn’t up yet and the house was quiet.

Kakashi pulled on his mask and stepped out of his room. He glanced up the stairs. He could sense the boys’ chakra. It was still dimmed in sleep. They’d come home late the night before, laughing and teasing each other. 

Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut tight and took a shuddering breath. 

Much like the day he’d gone to meet the boys as their sensei for the first time, the soft click of the door behind Kakashi felt final. Even if nothing changed, even if all of Team 7 was eliminated in the first round, the chuunin exams would be the end of one chapter in the story of Team 7.

Kakashi only dragged his feet a bit as he jogged towards downtown.

3 blocks from the hokage’s office, Gai fell into step beside Kakashi.

Neither said anything for a block.

“Are you going to enter them?” Gai asked. His voice was low. It barely reached Kakashi on the cool morning air.

Kakashi shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll have a choice.”

Gai let the question drop. “You’re early for once,” he nudged Kakashi’s shoulder lightly and flashed the other jounin a grin that didn’t reach his eyes.

“I got a summons to the hokage’s office. I assume he’s going to inform me that Team 7 will be entering the exam before I have a chance to make any official announcements.”

Gai narrowed his eyes. Kakashi’s voice was level and calm with none of the bitterness Gai expected.

“He could have another mission for you,” Gai suggested.

Kakashi just shrugged again.

At the village headquarters, the 2 jounin split. Gai headed for the meeting room and Kakashi took the stairs to the hokage’s office 2 at a time.

_ Let’s get this over with _ , Kakashi thought grimly.

Kakashi knocked on the hokage’s door and Hiruzen called for him to enter.

The hokage looked up from an impressive stack of paperwork, rubbed his eyes, and gestured for Kakashi to take a seat across the desk.

“Tea?” Hiruzen offered. He sounded tired. His voice was rough.

Kakashi shook his head. The third didn’t just sound tired. His posture was slightly bowed and Kakashi didn’t remember the frown lines on the man’s forehead being so pronounced. 

“I suppose you’d prefer we skip the pleasantries and get to business?” Hiruzen asked. His lips twitched upwards when Kakashi nodded.

Hiruzen shifted and sat up straighter. For a moment, Kakashi saw the ghost of a younger man underneath the Hokage’s hat. “I hope you know how much I appreciate that, especially now. Too much politics these days. No one says what they mean and a bit of flowery language is the difference between war and peace.”

“That bad?” Kakashi asked. There was no sympathy in his voice.

Both shinobi knew Kakashi was weighing his odds, making plans, and choosing his words. The jounin wasn’t a politician by choice, but he’d mastered the game for his boys’ sake.

Hiruzen shrugged. “Chuunin exams always are,” the smile he flashed Kakashi didn’t reach his eyes, “but this one is the backdrop to some particularly tense negotiations and I’m not the young man I once was.”

Kakashi nodded again, filming that information away alongside rumors heard at Poker night and tidbits Tenzou dropped. “The sort of tension that a good showing in the exams could help ease?” Kakashi asked.

Hiruzen answered with a question of his own. “Is Team 7 ready?” 

Kakashi hesitated. “That’s a complex question.”

“Then give me a complex answer.”

Kakashi chose his words carefully. “By their mission record alone, they’ll be eligible for a quiet promotion in the next 6 months.” This was a fact and one the hokage was already aware of. 

Kakashi shifted and continued, “They’ve proven their skills in combat both individually and together. Naruto’s control over the ocean of chakra inside of him is improving by the day. He’s a natural fighter with excellent instincts. Sasuke’s technical skills are on par with his brother’s. Sakura’s a brilliant strategist with the guts to stare down one of the Seven Swordsmen.” 

Again, this was known information, found in every mission report Kakashi submitted. To lie or try to downplay it would only lose Kakashi credibility.

Hiruzen nodded. He could see the war in Kakashi’s uncovered eye. He wanted to apologize for putting the man in this situation.

Kakashi didn’t give the hokage a chance to speak. He plowed on. “But they’re also 13,” Kakashi stressed the age.

The jounin leveled the hokage with a serious stare. “Do you want to pin your negotiations on a kid who laughs at his own fart jokes? One who just finished regrowing the eyebrows he singed off while lighting random things on fire? One who still braids flowers into her hair and loses her temper over mud on her dress?”

Hiruzen choked back a laugh and for the first time since Kakashi’d sat down, the jounin could see some life in the hokage’s eyes.

“Truthfully, yes,” Hiruzen said. “The ability to show that dichotomy is what I value most about these exams. The Kages need to be reminded that these brilliant soldiers are still our children and that we’re negotiating a future for these children.”

“I can’t guarantee Team 7 will make it to the third round.”

“Can you guarantee there will be no surprise appearances from the Fox?”

“No.”

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

Kakashi folded his arms. “If someone slits Sasuke’s throat or puts a kunai in Sakura’s chest, I can’t promise that Naruto won’t rip them to pieces with claws made of chakra.”

“If that’s what it takes to cause him to lose control, I’m willing to enter him. I don’t know many shinobi who could see their teammates die without losing control.”

Kakashi dipped his head, partly in acceptance and partly to hide the guilt he knew the other man would see in his eyes. Once, Hiruzen had praised Kakashi for his restraint. Praised him for bringing Rin home and not staying to water the ground with the blood of her killers on the eve of a peace talk. Kakashi wondered if Hiruzen remembered that.

“And, I trust that you’ve given Sakura and Sasuke the skills to keep themselves from becoming a liability.”

“Of course,” Kakashi kept his head down.

“Would you not enter them?” Hiruzen asked, softly. 

“Truthfully?” Kakashi asked.

“I would appreciate your honesty.”

“Then, honestly, I wouldn’t enter anyone under 16. The exam might be a war game to the Kages, but the scars it leaves on our kids aren’t a game.” 

Hiruzen closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. The chair squeaked and Kakashi's head jerked up.

“Were our world a kinder one, “ Hiruzen whispered.

Kakashi bit his lip to keep from saying anything more. He’d already said more than he meant to. It didn’t stop his mind from screaming,  _ You’re the hokage. Make it a kinder one. _

As if he would hear Kakashi’s bitter thoughts, Hiruzen caught Kakashi’s eyes. “Suna sent their jinchuuriki.”

Kakashi jerked his head in surprise.

“I take it you’ve heard the rumors?” Hiruzen asked.

“That’s he’s a violent monster?” Kakashi’s voice dripped with disgust. “I’m sure they’ve heard the same rumors about Naruto.”

Hiruzen shook his head. “He’s not in control. I was assured his 2 teammates are able to handle him, but I’m not confident. Suna sent an entourage of 6 jounin with their genin, ahead of their main delegation. They arrived short 2 genin and 1 jounin.”

Kakashi swallowed hard.  _ So that’s why he’s willing to risk Naruto. _ If Suna’s jinchuuriki waltzed all over the competition, it would jeopardize the fragile balance of power between the elemental nations. Between Naruto’s raw power and Sasuke’s sharingan, team 7 were Konoha’s best shot at stonewalling a barely controlled chakra demon.

“I heard Sasuke has been learning genjutsu. It may prove invaluable.”

Kakashi just shook his head and stood up. “I’ll enter them, but only because they’d enter themselves if I didn’t. If you rig this, if you force them into some sort of 3rd round showdown of jinchuriki vs jinchuriki or sharingan against jinchuriki, I will interfere.” Kakashi’s voice was even and firm. This wasn’t a threat. It was a promise. He wouldn’t see his kids pushed into a fight they weren’t ready for, at least not for the sake of political posturing.

Hiruzen nodded. “There’s too many eyes on this for anyone to rig any part of it and in the name of minimizing casualties I have a small army of experienced chuunin and jounin whose only job is to interfere when necessary.”

Kakashi nodded and turned for the door.

“Kakashi,” Hiruzen stopped Kakashi.

The silver haired jounin froze.

The silence stretched.

Hiruzen opened his mouth, but the words wouldn’t come.  _ I know how hard this is. I know the razor’s edge that you walk between a father and a commander. I entered my son and daughter in these same exams. I sent my daughter on the mission that got her killed. I don’t make these choices lightly.  _

“Is there anything else I can help you with, Hokage-sama?” Kakashi couldn’t keep the bitter edge out of his voice.

“You do realize there’s a strong possibility at least 1 of your students will make it to round 3?”

Kakashi nodded. “I know. If they make it there on the basis of their ability alone, I have no concerns about them being there.” 

Hiruzen nodded and watched Kakashi walk out of the office, spine stiff and fists clenched.

Hiruzen closed his eyes and sagged in his seat.  _ If nothing else, I’ve spared him the guilt of this choice, _ the man thought grimly. If anything happened to Team 7 during the exams, Hiruzen was willing to shoulder the blame. Just like he’d shoulder the weight of any deaths Suna’s jinchuuriki caused. 

_ The burden of such decisions is just one more part of being Hokage. _

_ \--- _

Outside the hokage’s office, Kakashi leaned against the wall and tried to collect himself. He was shaking and his mouth tasted like bile. How many casualties would be written off as necessary? How many kids would be thrown at a supposedly unstable jinchuuriki on the off chance of defeating him? How many would be sacrificed in the name of preserving peace through war games?

Kakashi shoved himself off the wall, muttering curses under his breath, and headed for the meeting room. He hadn’t felt this helpless in years.

In front of all the jounin of Konoha, Kakashi officially entered Team 7 in the chuunin exams. His voice was level and emotionless, but when his uncovered eye met the Hokage’s gaze it was full of promises. Kakashi would die before his kids were sacrificed in a political chess match.

Then Kurenai and Asuma stood and made the same declaration.

_ 9, _ Kakashi suppressed a shudder.  _ 9 rookies, that has to be a first since the last war. _ He missed the sound of Gai’s oddly subdued announcement. The other jounin’s voice was drowned out by the blood pounding in Kakashi’s ears.

Across the room, Iruka was pale. He opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, but Kakashi caught the younger man’s gaze and shook his head subtly. 

The hokage briefed the jounin on their guests, some who would be arriving shortly and some who had arrived the night before. It went without saying that these visitors were to be watched closely and treated with the utmost respect. There would be zero tolerance for any fighting outside of the exams.

No one lingered after the meeting. 

Iruka tried to.

Kakashi saw the way the teacher was staring daggers at the hokage, recognized the stubborn set of his shoulders, and made a point of snagging Iruka’s sleeve on his way past.

Kakashi all but dragged Iruka out of the room and towards the exit. 

Iruka considered resisting, but one look at Kakashi’s face stopped him.

As soon as they were out of sight of the rest of the jounin, Iruka ripped his sleeve out of Kakashi’s grasp and snarled at Kakashi. “What the hell?!” 

Kakashi held up his hands in a placating gesture. 

A clerk and the security at the front door were both staring.

“Calm down,” Kakashi ordered.

Iruka clamped his mouth shut and narrowed his eyes.

In the heartbeat he had before Iruka actually blew a gasket, Kakashi added quietly, “We can talk, but not here.”

Iruka took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then nodded for Kakashi to lead the way.

The 2 jounin ended up in a small shinobi bar, mostly empty this time of morning. The music from an old jukebox was enough to prevent any eavesdropping and from the corner booth, you had a clear view of the room.

Iruka waited until Kakashi finished ordering a pot of tea from the waitress before speaking. “What the hell?!” Iruka hissed.

Kakashi held up a hand to pause the tirade as the waitress set down the teapot and 2 mugs. When she was out of earshot, Kakashi lowered his hand.

“Seriously? They’re kids. They’re less than 18 months out of the academy. I don’t care how good they are, nothing they’ve done is sufficient to prepare them for the exams. Did you even listen when Hiruzen briefed us on the competition?”

Kakashi let Iruka snarl and hiss. Afterall, he’d watched over these kids for almost half their lives. He had as much right to worry as any parent.

When Iruka paused to gulp down a mouthful of tea, Kakashi took the opportunity to answer. “I did listen. I don’t like it anymore than you do. Hiruzen would have entered my team even if I said they weren’t ready. Their mission record speaks too loudly.”

Iruka scowled.

“I could have lied and said Naruto’s control of the Fox is shaky, but I’m pretty sure that would have put him in more danger than just entering him in the exams,” Kakashi added.

The fight went out of Iruka. He leaned back against the booth and sighed. “I’m sick of funerals.” His voice sounded hollow and he gripped his mug a little tighter.

Kakashi cocked his head to the side. 

“Search and rescue mission, D-rank. Lost one when the rubble gave way. Supply escort mission in Ame, C-rank. Lost 1 to bandits. A third caught pneumonia on a border assignment and a fourth won’t ever walk again after a fall during training.”

Kakashi nodded slowly. Even in peace times, the life of a shinobi was dangerous and kids are fragile-- even shinobi kids.

“They weren’t clan kids, so no one made a big fuss. The families grieved, the sensei’s grieved, and the village added them to our statistics. 3 dead and 1 cripled in the first year is actually pretty good for a rookie class.”

Kakashi closed his eyes. This rookie class was Iruka’s first, the first group of kids he’d trained from day one to graduation. Kakashi could only imagine the grief.

“And now 9 of them are entered in the chuunin exams.”

Kakashi opened his eyes. “If I were a rich man, I’d put my money on the rookie 9.”

“And that’s the whole point of this isn’t it?” Iruka’s voice was bitter.

Kakashi shrugged. “Partly. The exams bring in a lot of money on their own and they attract future clients. They do the job of border skirmishes and war without wiping out whole generations.”

Iruka just shook his head.

“But the 3rd thinks they do something more. The chuunin exams are a backdrop to the negotiations that keep the peace. The exams serve as a reminder that these soldiers are more than just weapons. They’re people, with hopes and dreams and goals. They’re the future of every village. No one wants to see that future snuffed out.” Kakashi wasn’t sure if he was reassuring Iruka or himself.

“I volunteered to help with the second round,” Iruka said.

Kakashi nodded. 

“I’m going to do my best to protect them.”

“I know. We all are. There’s a lot of eyes on these exams. Some of them are friendly.” Kakashi thought of Gai and the kid he’d all but adopted. He thought of Kurenai and the disowned Hyuga she treated like a little sister. He thought of Asuma and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. He thought of all the clan heads, who always fought so hard to protect their own.

“You know it’s not that I don’t trust you and the other jounin senseis,” Iruka started.

“I know. We all know. You were their sensei first. You get worrying rights, same as the rest of us,” Kakashi soothed.

Iruka snorted. There was color back in his face. “You’ll be watching, too, right?”

Kakashi tapped his covered eye. “With both eyes open.”

Iruka nodded. “You really think they’re ready?”

“Yeah. I do.” Kakashi rubbed his face. “Kami help me, I’m going to have a heart attack before the exams are over, but I do really think they’re ready. All 9 of them can hold their own.”

“How do you balance it?” Iruka asked.

Kakashi didn’t have to ask what he meant. “Same as every other sensei or shinobi parent, I compartmentalize. I’ve got sensei mode and dad mode. They don’t coexist well and it takes all the discipline I have sometimes to shift between them the way my obligations require.”

Iruka nodded.

“It really does help to know that they can take care of themselves,” Kakashi added.

Iruka breathed a sigh of relief.

\---

Sasuke woke up to the front door clicking shut. The house was old and wood. Vibrations traveled and the front door made the window pane beside his bed tremble slightly.

Sasuke rolled out of bed and glanced out the window. Kakashi was jogging down the street. If it were urgent, he would have shuushined away. 

Sasuke relaxed. 

Sasuke loved the morning. He could hear Naruto snoring lightly through the open door and it made him smile. 

The house was warm and calm, wrapped in the dim predawn light. It felt safe and peaceful.

Sasuke slipped downstairs, tiptoed around the dogs sprawled on the living room rug, and made his way to the kitchen. 

First, he refilled the dogs’ water and dished up their breakfast, Inuzuka brand kibble with rice and fresh chicken sprinkled on top.

Next, Sasuke turned his attention to people breakfast.

Sasuke hummed as he scrambled eggs and tossed bread in the toaster. 

The sun came up in a flash over hokage rock and painted the world outside the kitchen window golden. The dew on the grass sparkled.

Sasuke made himself a plate and left the rest warm on the stove top. Eventually the smell would lure Naruto out of sleep and the blond would stagger downstairs with none of the grace or stealth a shinobi should have.

The thought made Sasuke smile as he picked his way to the living room. He settled on the couch and shared his eggs with Bull and Bisuke. 

Sasuke nibbled on his toast and his eyes skated around the room. 

These days, about half of the books on Kakashi’s shelves had been cleared off and replaced with framed pictures. 

Naruto’s parents smiled down, dressed in their wedding best, beside an Uchiha family photo, taken in the brief period of peace between Sasuke’s birth and the Ninetails’ attack. A faded Hatake family picture was half hidden behind a couple other frames. Two photos of two very different Team 7s sat side-by-side front and center. Mixed in were snap shots of everyday life-- the first time Kakashi and Naruto took Sasuke fishing, Tenzou and a small Naruto both covered in mud, Sasuke asleep in a pile of dogs, Pakkun as a puppy.

The floor creaked and Sasuke heard the tattletale thump of Naruto coming down the stairs. 

“I made breakfast,” Sasuke called as Naruto finally made it downstairs, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

Naruto nodded and glanced around.

“Kakashi left this morning, but he wasn’t in a hurry,” Sasuke said to Naruto’s unasked question.

Naruto nodded again. “Probably meeting Gai or something,” he mumbled and headed for the kitchen.

Naruto plopped onto the couch beside Sasuke. “You’re in a good mood today,” Naruto teased around a mouthful.

“Gross,” Sasuke wrinkled his nose. “If you keep talking with your mouthful, next time I won’t make you breakfast.”

Naruto snorted, shovelled in another bite, chewed and then stuck his tongue out at Sasuke.

Sasuke swatted his shoulder. “You are disgusting.”

Naruto just swallowed the food and laughed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. 

“Seriously though, did you prank me or something?” Naruto asked. He frowned at the eggs. “There’s not dye in here or something that’s going to make my mouth blue for a week?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes again. “I did that once and you wouldn’t have had any issues if you weren’t stealing my snacks.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes, but decided he might as well finish the eggs.

“I was just thinking,” Sasuke said after a minute.

“Dangerous, but continue,” Naruto interrupted.

Sasuke glared. “I was just thinking how good everything is right now. I didn’t think I’d ever feel like this again.”

Naruto’s face softened with understanding. He nudged Sasuke with his foot. “We got lucky.”

Sasuke nodded.

The 2 lapsed into an easy silence. Naruto finished eating and took both their plates to the kitchen. “So what do you want to do today?” Naruto yelled from the kitchen.

“We’re about out of groceries,” Sasuke yelled back.

“Great,” Naruto stuck his head into the living room. “Start writing the list, because I demand a rematch.”

Sasuke snickered and did as he was told.

\---

Naruto felt like his arms were going to fall off before he got his bags of groceries home. He was also pretty certain Sasuke wrote the list to be unfair. There was no way Naruto got all the heavy things and only-carried-at-one-way-out-of-the-way-little-shop things on his list by accident.

“KIIIIYAH!” someone screeched just before a weight slammed into Naruto’s back.    
  


The blond went tumbling. Groceries went everywhere.

Naruto scrambled to get his hands free from the tangled bags and grab a kunai. His heart was racing and blood pounded in his ears.

Laughter cut through the fog of panic. “A good shinobi should always be aware of their surroundings,” a familiar voice lectured.

Naruto looked up as a small boy with spiky brown hair and a familiar gap-toothed smile stepped in front of him. “I really would have expected better from my rival.”

“Konohamaru!” the red headed girl snapped. “That was mean.”

Konohamaru rolled his eyes. “Payback for dropping a branch on my head.”

All Naruto could do was gasp like a fish as the adrenaline leaked out of his system.

“He looks pretty upset,” a boy with glasses mumbled. He peered over Konohamaru’s shoulder.

Naruto took a shuddering breath. “You,” he hissed, “need to learn some boundaries and some manners.”

Konohamaru paled slightly and the other 2 kids shrank back behind him as Naruto climbed to his feet. 

Naruto surveyed the damage. The gallon of milk had split open and the rice was spilled all over the sidewalk. Shards of broken glass from a jar of pickled artichoke glinted on the concrete.

“Seriously you could have hurt me or yourselves or someone else!”

The 3 kids shrank a bit further and shuffled backwards. 

“You better start cleaning up,” Naruto snapped. He took a step forward and put on his best Kakashi face.

Panic flashed across 3 faces.

“Run,” Konohamaru yelled and the kids bolted.

Naruto blinked in surprise and then took off after them.  _ Didn’t know I was that good at the scary anbu face… _ “Get back here! I am not cleaning up the mess you made!!!”

The kids wove through the crowd with Naruto on their heels. They were headed for the edge of the market where they could make a clean break for the safety of the academy grounds and the playground monitor they’d managed to slip away from earlier.

The girl was out in front, having been a few steps behind Konohamaru and a bit taller in the leg department. “Almost home free!” she called over her shoulder.

The girl turned back just in time to crash into the back of a teenager in black.

She stumbled back and the guy grabbed her arm.

Naruto burst out of the crowd. “Alright you little brats…” The words died on Naruto’s lips. 

The teen was holding the girl’s arm tight enough for her to whimper. He made an intimidating figure, 3 inches taller than Naruto, dressed all in black, with war paint on his face and some sort of covered weapon on his back. He glanced between the struggling girl, the other 2 frozen kids, and Naruto. 

“I take it these are the brats you were referring to?” the teen asked. He smiled slightly at Naruto. The blond’s tracksuit was covered in ruined groceries.

The teen shifted and his forehead protector caught the light. 

Konohamaru noticed it the same instant Naruto did. 

“INVADER!!! Let go of her!” Konohamaru yelled. “I’ll kill you.”

Konohamaru lunged for the foreign shinobi, kunai in hand.

The teen snorted and hurled the girl into Konohamaru. The 2 crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs. 

“You weren’t kidding when you called them brats,” the teen said to Naruto. A kunai danced between his fingers. It was a dark steel that Naruto had only ever seen used for anbu gear. “I can kill them for you,” the teen said lightly. He took a step towards the 2 on the ground. The third stood frozen and shaking with fear. “Afterall, I’m sure your village would frown on you getting your hands dirty and the little shit did threaten to kill me.”

“

No.” Naruto stepped between the teen and the kids. He hoped his voice wasn’t shaking as much as his hands were. There was a Suna-nin in the middle of their village. Everyone knew Suna’d been testing their borders the last few months, but for one to be here… This was bad. Worse, there were civilians around, lots of them. Naruto knew he needed to deescalate this situation, keep the Suna nin calm and distracted. “I’d hate for you to get shit on your hands.”

Naruto sent a mental apology to the kids.

The teen laughed. “You’re funny.”

Naruto signalled behind his back for the kids to run.

Either they hadn’t learned hand signs yet in the academy or the kids really were a special kind of idiot, Naruto decided. 

The boy with the spiky hair climbed to his feet and drew a new kunai. “Only someone who would roll over to a foriegn invader is shit,” he snarled and shoved past Naruto. “I’m not scared of you.”

The teen laughed and lunged. 

Naruto threw his arms around Konohamaru.

The teen’s kunai sank into Naruto’s forearm instead of the kid’s chest.

Konohamaru blinked in surprise.

The teen laughed again when Naruto dumped Konohamaru on the ground and pulled the kunai out of his arm. 

“Constipated? You seem awfully attached to the little shit.” The teen teased, like he hadn’t just stabbed another shinobi, like he hadn’t just tried to kill a kid.

“You’re not funny,” Naruto snarled back. 

The teen blinked in surprise. 

Naruto hurled the teen’s kunai back, buying a second while the suna-nin dodged. To summon a dozen shadow clones.

The suna-nin’s smile widened and he reached to unsling the weapon on his back.

The Narutos drew their kunai.

A gust of wind whipped through the street with enough force to split the Naruto’s cheek and destroy his clones.

A teenage girl, older than the one in black, stepped up beside the first suna-nin. Her forehead protector was around her neck and she surveyed the scene with practiced eyes. “Causing trouble, Kankuro?” she asked the one in black.

The one in black shrugged. “Just meeting the locals.”

“Then I’d suggest you introduce yourselves before the anbu get here,” Sasuke said, stepping out of a nearby alleyway. He set down his groceries and stepped up beside Naruto.

With Sasuke at his side, Naruto hazarded a glance over his shoulder.

The 3 kids had finally taken the hint and were limping down the street and almost to the academy gates. Naruto figured they’d need another couple minutes to round up help.

Naruto turned back to the 2 suna-nin. It would be up to him and Sasuke to stall these 2.

“You want an introduction, punk,” the one in black teased, “then you better earn it.” He drew another kunai.

Sasuke stepped back into an aggressive stance and Naruto followed his lead.

The blonde girl rolled her eyes.

“Enough,” the voice was cold and low.

Sasuke wasn’t sure if it was the voice or the wave of chakra that made him shudder. The chakra was cold, like a biting wind, and big.

A red haired kid, no older than he and Naruto appeared beside the 2 suna-nin in a swirl of air. 

_ Shuushin, _ Sasuke recognized the jutsu.

Beside him, Naruto stiffened.

In front of them, the 2 suna-nin froze.

The one in black held up his hands and Sasuke couldn’t tell if it was meant to be placating or defensive. “It’s okay Gaara. I was just--”

The red head glared up at the teen who shrank behind the girl.

The girl was trying to smile, but it was obviously forced. Her whole body was tense.

The redhead nodded and turned to Naruto and Sasuke. “Apologies for my team. They are over eager. I am Gaara of the sand. They’re Kanakro and Temari of the sand. We’re here for the chuunin exam.”

Sasuke swallowed. His throat was tight and his heart was beating faster than ever. Every hair on his body was standing at attention.  _ His chakra’s huge. Almost like… _ Sasuke’s thought trailed off and he glanced at Naruto. Naruto who was as stiff with tension as he was. Naruto who didn’t look scared. Naruto who almost looked elated in a predatory way-- too sharp smile, slit pupils, and dark whisker marks.

When Naruto first felt the redhead’s chakra, Kurama growled low in his mind. Naruto felt it in his bones.  _ Do not shrink, _ the Fox ordered.  _ We do not cower in front of the Onetail and his vessel. _

_ Does that mean---? _

Kuram answered before Naruto finished the question.  _ The redhead is a jinchuuriki. I recognize that chakra. The Onetail and I haven’t crossed paths in a thousand years, but I’d know his chakra anywhere. _

Naruto stared at the redhead with wide eyes. One thought drowned out everything else.  _ He’s like me _ .

The redhead, Gaara, shifted his gaze fully onto Naruto and Sasuke felt like he could breathe again.

_ Does he know?  _ Naruto asked Kurama.

_ Probably,  _ Kurama said,  _ but how about we make sure. _

Naruto smiled as he felt the Fox’s chakra burn hot and fast and almost too much through his veins.

Gaara smiled. 

Sasuke knew that look. It wasn’t a kind or friendly smile. He also knew the hot rush of Naruto’s tainted chakra.

All doubts Sasuke had went out the window.  _ He’s a jinchuuriki, too. _

Sasuke stepped in between Naruto and Gaara. “We should save this for the exams.” His voice wavered slightly as 2 opposing waves of chakra washed over him.

Sasuke threw Naruto a sharp look. The tome in his red eyes spun a bit faster than normal.

Naruto blinked and the Fox’s chakra dissipated. “It’s okay, Sasuke,” Naruto said with an easy smile. He stepped up and put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. “Just a misunderstanding. No harm done.”

Sasuke wanted to disagree, but knew this wasn’t the time. A fight here and now with these players would have a lot of collateral damage. The gash on Naruto’s cheek and the deep wound in his forearm were evidence of a bit more than a friendly misunderstanding.

Gaara’s eyes narrowed and his smile faded.  _ He’s not like me, _ he thought bitterly. When he spoke his voice was emotionless and cold. “Yes. No harm done.”

“I’m Uzumaki Naruto and this is my teammate, Uchiha Sasuke,” Naruto introduced.

“I take it you’ll be participating in the exam?” Gaara asked.

Naruto nodded. 

The redhead nodded. “Then we will save this for the exams.” As fast as he’d appeared, he vanished in a swirl of hot, dry air. The other 2 suna-nin followed suit.

“They can shuushin,” Sasuke said softly.

Naruto shrugged. “Doesn’t mean they’re stronger than us.” 

Sasuke licked his lips and hesitated, not sure how to ask what he wanted to know.

Naruto saw the uncertainty on Sasuke’s face. “The redhead, Gaara’s a jinchuuriki. He’s like me.”

Sasuke shook his head, but bit his tongue.  _ No. He’s not like you. _ Sasuke had felt the Fox’s chakra, felt it’s rage and its hatred, but even at its worst he’d never felt anything like Gaara’s chakra. The only way he could describe it was as uncaring and unfeeling malevolence. 

Naruto flashed Sasuke a grin. “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts about the exam just because you met the competition.”

Sasuke shook his head. “No second thoughts. I’m looking forward to it.” As he said the words, he realized they were true. Sasuke promised himself he would never use genjutsu on Naruto, but he couldn’t deny he was curious. Could the sharingan really control a tailed beast? 

“This is how we get stronger,” Sasuke added.

Naruto’s grin widened and he slung an arm around Sasuke’s shoulders. “This is going to be awesome.”

Sasuke snorted. “Sure, now get your arm off me. You’re bleeding all over both of us… and is that milk?”

“Long story, but I lost my groceries. How’d you find me?”

“Saw the crowd of panicking civilians and headed the opposite way. Figured if there was trouble, you’d probably found it.”

Naruto just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 18 should be up tonight. 19 and 20 will follow tomorrow morning and evening


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 17 (the chapter before this one) was posted this morning (1/31/21). If you haven't read it yet, you'll need to go back a chapter.

Kakashi arrived home shortly after Naruto got out of the shower. He found his kids in the bathroom. Sasuke had Naruto pinned on the ground and was stitching a gash on the blond’s forearm while Naruto kept up a steady stream of promises for “next time you get hurt” and did his best not to struggle.

“What the hell?” Kakashi sighed.

“When do the chuunin exams start?” Sasuke asked.

“Tomorrow, why?” Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

“We met the competition,” Sasuke said.

“One of them’s like me!” Naruto said. Even with a needle punching in and out of his skin, he couldn’t keep the smile out of his voice.

Kakashi’s blood ran cold. “And he attacked you?”

“He actually helped us,” Naruto said before Sasuke could answer. “His teammates are kind of dicks though.”

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head. He didn’t want to spoil Naruto’s excitement, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that had it just been Naruto and Gaara there things would have gone bad.

Kakashi just sighed. “Finish getting cleaned up and go see if you can find Sakura. I’ll make lunch and the 4 of us can talk.”

\---

Kakashi set all 3 of his kids on the couch and dragged a chair into the livingroom room from the kitchen. He sat it backwards and rested his chin on the back, watching then nibble at sandwiches.

Naruto was all but bouncing in his seat with excitement. 

Sasuke looked thoughtful.

Sakura shifted with impatience. If Kakashi had to guess, she was frustrated that she’d missed the encounter with the suna-nin.

“I know you’ve all heard a lot about the chuunin exams between what’s covered in the academy and the rumors going around,” Kakashi started.

Three heads nodded.

“But I’m going to start from the beginning, because propaganda and rumors aren’t going to help you decide if you want to participate,” Kakashi finished.

He now had the 3 genins’ full attention. 

“The chuunin exams happen yearly and the 5 elemental nations take turns hosting them. They are one way you can earn the promotion from genin to chuunin. Your performance in the exams is judged by the Hokage and the village jounin. If you perform well enough you will be promoted.”

Naruto was grinning around a mouthful.

“The exams started as a replacement for war. From the beginning, they’ve been a way for the elemental nations to do their posturing without slaughtering each other. Over time, the exams have got bigger. About 2 years ago, potential clients started to show up as spectators and the exams became a way to showcase a village’s skill. The smaller countries started sending teams.”

The 3 genin nodded, all wondering where Kakashi was going with the history lesson.

“Today, the chuunin exams are a complex political spectacle. In addition to their historical function, the exams provide their host country with an economic boost from all the guests, spectators, and sanctioned betting. They also serve as the background to all peace talks, trade negotiations, and treaties between the shinobi villages. They’re important. The exam I participated in is credited with staving off the 3rd war by 2 full years. The war ended with a peace treaty whose signing bled into a chuunin exam hosted on the battlefield between Konoha and Kumo.”

Kakashi leveled his genin with a hard stare. “Do you understand the importance of the exams?”

All 3 nodded.

“How much have you picked up about what’s going on in the wider world?”

The 3 looked between each other.

Sakura was eventually the one to speak. “Suna’s signed some sort of a treaty with a new village, the hidden sound.”

Naruto chimed in next, “And Suna’s been testing the borders. There’s been a couple skirmishes with Tanigakure. Rumor has it suna-nin have been spotted near our border with the land of rain.”

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke. 

“Things are tense,” the Uchiha shrugged. “I’m guessing this means there’s a lot riding on these exams.”

Kakashi nodded. “All pretty accurate. There is a lot riding on these exams and not just for Konoha. The villages all sent their best. A lot of the entries are genin only in name. Their promotions have been delayed for the sole purpose of entering them in these exams.” 

Naruto shrugged. “So?”

“So, this isn’t a game,” Kakashi snapped. “On a normal year, there’s a couple casualties. Someone dies, a couple people get crippled, and everyone gets hurt to some degree. I don’t know what to expect from this year. I know the Hokage’s put as many safety precautions in place as he can, but like any mission, that’s no guarantee.”

Naruto shrank back into the couch. 

Sakura set aside her plate and frowned down at her lap.

“I’m not trying to scare you,” Kakashi said, far more gently. “I believe the 3 of you are ready to become chuunin and take on higher ranked missions.”

Kakashi took a deep breath, “I entered you in the exam, but it’s up to each of you individually if you want to participate. It’s a choice you need to make without any pressure from each other or from me. I will support you whatever choice you make.”

Kakashi stood up. “If you have any questions, this is the time to ask them. Otherwise, be at the academy gates at 8AM tomorrow. If you decide to participate, that will give me time to finish briefing you.” He leaned on the chair and regarded his students.

“What exactly do these exams entail?” Sasuke asked.

Kakashi shrugged. “No 2 are the same, but there’s typically 3 rounds. The first two rounds are to narrow the field and the third round is a public tournament following a period of recovery between it and the second round. Most of the time, there’s some sort of survival component.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes. “That doesn’t sound so bad. We’re good at that sort of thing. This isn’t like the academy exams where there's written stuff we have to study for?”

Kakashi shook his head. “It’s a test of practical skills with components meant to mimic the sort of challenges you might encounter as chuunin.”

“If we show up tomorrow,” Sakura paused and licked her lips, “what should we bring?”

“Pack like you’re heading on an away mission. You’ll need to be prepared for anything.”

The 4 lapsed into silence.

“Any other questions?” Kakashi asked. There was no response. “Okay. I’ll leave you to it.” Kakashi shuushinned away.

After a minute, Sakura stood up. “I’m going to go home.”

Both boys nodded. 

Naruto opened his mouth and then shut it quickly.

Sakura smiled, a silent thank you.

The boys stayed on the couch together for the better part of an hour. 

Naruto bounced his knee.

Sasuke interlaced his fingers and stared forward without seeing. “I’m going to go for a walk,” Sasuke broke the silence.

Naruto nodded and kept bouncing his knee.

\---

With Sasuke gone, Naruto paced the house.

_ Do you want to talk? _ Kurama’s voice made it clear he couldn’t believe he was making the offer.  _ Since you can’t talk to anyone else. _

Naruto didn’t care that the Fox was teasing him. He felt like he would explode if he didn’t get some of his thoughts out of his head.  _ Do you think I shouldn’t enter? _

_ Do you not want to enter? _

_ No! _ Naruto hesitated,  _ but I don’t think Kakashi wants us to enter and that makes me nervous. _

_ You’re his kit. He’d barricade you in the safety of your den if he could, _ Kurama said it more gently than Naruto expected. 

_ Do you have a family?  _ Naruto asked. He’d never thought to ask before.

Kurama sighed.  _ Sort of. My family is a complicated thing. _

_ Do you have kids? _

Kurama chuckled.  _ Only you, kit. I had a creator who I love in the way you humans love your fathers and I suppose I had a mother, although I don’t associate her with all those good things you humans define your mothers by. I have 8 siblings, some I got along with and some I didn’t, but it’s been many human lifetimes since I last saw any of them and even more since the 9 of us were together. _

_ So the Onetail is your brother? _

_ I suppose, but don’t think that means we are alike or that it gives you any sort of bond with his host, _ Kurama’s tone carried a warning.  _ He’d very much like to defeat me and would happily kill you. He’s never been one for any sort of restraint and I don’t think his host has your spine or your heart. _

Naruto shivered as images filled his mind. A howling windstorm buried a city beneath the sand and ripped the flesh off anyone foolish enough to run. The wind sounded like laughter.  _ If I don’t enter the exam, maybe we’ll get through this without Gaara losing control, _ Naruto thought.

_ I don’t think we’ll get through this without conflict. It doesn’t matter if that conflict is sanctioned or not. You might as well play your war game. _

Naruto nodded. He leaned against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut.  _ I hope you’re wrong,  _ Naruto thought.

Kurama’s chakra curled around Naruto’s mind like a warm embrace. 

Naruto leaned into the sensation.  _ I have everything I could ever want. I have a family who loves me, but even they don’t understand me. I was so excited to meet someone who would understand all of me. _

Kurama nudged Naruto with a bit of chakra.  _ Perhaps I’m wrong. I was wrong about the Uchiha last time. _

Naruto could feel that Kurama didn’t really mean that. It was hard to lie to someone you shared a head with, but he appreciated the sentiment.  _ Next time we meet the Onetail and Gaara, will you let me lead? _

_ I won’t interfere unless you are about to die or you ask me, _ the Fox promised. He knew the empty place Naruto was trying to fill with this other jinchuuriki, felt it as deeply as Naruto did. Deep down, Kurama wasn’t so sure that that empty place wasn’t his rather than Naruto’s. They were so interwoven, it was impossible to really tell where one ended and the other began.

With his choice made, Naruto turned his attention to dinner. They hadn’t replaced all of Naruto’s ruined groceries, so he grabbed some money and headed for Ichiraku. Afterall, no one else in the house was likely to remember they needed to eat.  _ Got to carb load, _ Naruto fired back at the laughing Fox.

\---

Sasuke tried to empty his mind and lose himself in the rhythm of his feet on cobblestone. His thoughts kept circling back to the other jinchuuriki and his feet kept straying towards the edge of town.

Sasuke tried to shove the image of cruel smile from his mind’s eye and glanced down the empty street to see his family’s crest on the gates to what had once been the Uchiha compound. Even after all these years, the paint was still bright where it wasn’t over grown by ivy.

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut. He’d already made his choice. 

When Sasuke opened his eyes, he strode forward with purpose.

Sasuke skirted the Uchiha compound, weaving through the dense underbrush at the edge of the forest on paths half remembered and three-fourths overgrown. In the distance, he could hear rushing water. 

The forest ended abruptly and 30 feet below, the Nakano River thundered over a series of rapids. 

Sasuke’s feet knew the way and he didn’t fight them as he picked his way down a narrow, steep track on the cliff face.

Undercut beneath a wall of stone was a small, sandy beach. Protected by fallen boulders, the edge of the Nakano became a deep, calm pool.

Ghosts danced around Sasuke.

He saw himself at 4 years old, still a squishy smiling little kid. He remembered being so excited when Itachi would bring him here. He remembered scrambling down the path and running straight for the water. 

“Look out below!” Shisui yelled. 

It was just enough warning for 12 year old Itachi to wrap Sasuke in a hug and pull him back from the water before the 14 year old launched himself off the cliff above and cannonballed into the pool. 

Shisui always surfaced laughing. Sasuke didn’t remember much about Shisui, but he remembered his laugh.

The mix of memories crystallized into a single one-- the last time Sasuke had been on this little beach.

When Shisui surfaced, Itachi was glaring at him. “You need to be more careful.”

“Relax, I knew you had Sasuke. You’re careful enough for all 3 of us,” Shisui soothed.

Itachi rolled his eyes and helped Sasuke pull off his little sandals. “Our cousin’s an idiot,” Itachi whispered fondly.

Little Sasuke had smiled and promised he’d be careful, not like Shisui. Itachi had grinned and Shisui had pulled a face, called the 2 brothers spoil sports.

They’d had fun that day. The sun had been warm and bright. Itachi had packed them lunch. In the heat of the day, they ate fruit and dango and fresh tomatoes in the shade of the cliff. 

Shisui told stories. He had his small audience rolling in the sand with laughter.

Itachi hummed and paddled his feet in the cool water while Sasuke splashed.

When evening fell, Shisui caught a couple trout and Itachi lit a fire.

Sasuke remembered Itachi and Shisui talking about the future. They sat side by side as the sun set, leaning on each other. It was one of the few memories Sasuke had where his brother was at ease, where the smile on his face reached his eyes.

Little Sasuke had curled up in his brother’s lap and Itachi had stroked his hair until he fell asleep.

Sometime after the stars had risen and the fire died, Itachi had carried him home and tucked him into bed.

Sasuke shook his head to clear away the memories. He sat down in the sand and watched the river beyond the pool race by.

Sasuke wished he remembered what sort of future Itachi and Shisui had dreamed up, here, before their world shattered. Maybe Sasuke would feel less like he was adrift in the river if he knew.

As careful as Itachi had been, as fearless and strong as Shisui was, neither of them had been able to save the clan.

The roar of the Nakano drowned out all other thoughts and then faded into the background. The way forward appeared in Sasuke’s mind, like the riverbed revealed by summer’s heat.

_ Stronger.  _ Sasuke needed to get stronger. He had a life worth living and people worth dying for. He needed to be strong enough to protect them. Stronger than both Itachi and Shisui.

_ Never strong enough _ . Once, Sasuke had thought he would be strong enough when he could stare down Itachi, when could defeat his brother. 

Sasuke’s world had been smaller then. Now that he knew people like Zabuza and Haku and Gatou existed, he knew Itachi wasn’t unique. 

People like Gaara were the new benchmark. To fight on that level, Sasuke knew he’d have to be more than careful. He’d have to be fearless and calculating. He’d have to know the depth of the water and have the confidence to hurl himself off the cliff, just like Shisui had so many summers ago. Hesitation would have him crash into the rocky shallows. 

The air behind Sasuke swirled and he felt a familiar chakra solidify.

“I thought I might find you somewhere around here,” Kakashi said.

Sasuke leaned back and smiled up at the jounin. “Just thinking.”

Kakashi nodded. “Mind if I join you?”

Sasuke patted the space beside him and Kakashi sat down. 

“You’ve been gone a while. Naruto was starting to worry,” Kakashi said.

Sasuke blinked a couple times and realized the afternoon had come and gone. It was starting to get dark. 

“Still thinking about the exams?” Kakashi asked carefully.

“No. I made that decision a while ago. I’m entering.”

Kakashi nodded. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“What did you think of the Suna jinchuuriki?”

Sasuke answered without hesitation, “He’s not like Naruto.” Sasuke shifted and hugged his knees to his chest. “He had eyes like Zabuza. When he looked at me, I’m pretty sure he was deciding how to kill me.”

Kakashi nodded. 

“I know Naruto wants to make friends with this guy, but I don’t think this guy wants friends. His teammates were scared of him and I’m afraid that Naruto’s going to get his heart broken.”

“Is that the only thing you’re afraid of?”

Sasuke remembered the way he’d frozen at the first touch of that malevolent chakra and he shivered. “No. I’m afraid of dying, but I’ll get over that. That sort of fear will only get in my way.”

“Fear of death is healthy. It keeps us alive.”

Sasuke flashed Kakashi a grin. “Don’t worry. I don’t want to die. I just decided that next time I meet Gaara, I’m not going to freeze.”

“Good. You can’t hesitate with opponents like that,” Kakashi nodded his approval and tempered it with a word of caution, “But you also can’t be reckless.”

Sasuke nodded and rested his chin on his knees. “Do you think Naruto will forgive me if I use the sharingan on another jinchuuriki?” 

“I think you should talk to him about it, but if push comes to shove I’d rather you piss Naruto off than let him get hurt.”

“I’ll look out for him.”

“You’ll look out for each other.”

Sasuke nodded and then climbed to his feet. 

Kakashi looked up at the Uchiha and suppressed a shudder. For a moment, it wasn’t Sasuke standing there. The moonlight painted his skin pale, the sort of pale that came from living behind a mask, and highlighted his angular features still blunted in daylight by a bit of baby fat. For a moment, Kakashi saw Itachi-- 13 years old, not yet broken, and mind as far away as the moon reflected in those dark eyes. 

“Ready to go home?” Sasuke asked. He held a hand down to Kakashi.

Kakashi shook off the vision, took the offered hand, and climbed to his feet. “I’m ready if you are.”

They set off for home side by side and skirted the ruins of the Uchiha complex.

When the sound of the Nakano faded into the dusk and they’d left the ghosts of the past behind, Kakashi reached out and ruffled Sasuke’s hair.

Sasuke huffed and rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t suppress the faint smile on his lips.

\---

Sakura didn’t go straight home. 

First, she stopped by Yamanaka Flowers.

The shop was a cheery place with butter yellow walls, a big front window, and a door that was propped open more days than not. The clean scent of growing things drifted out the door. The shop straddled the border between the market district and the arts district and was the last place anyone would suspect of being a shinobi gathering spot. 

Sakura took a deep breath as she approached. Today she smelled hyacinths and lilac-- sweet but not overwhelming-- both had to be fresh from Ren Yamanaka’s greenhouse as they were out of season.

Inside, the matriarch of the Yamanaka clan was in a deep conversation with a man bearing the mark of the Hokage’s office on his jacket and her daughter was manning the register, slumped over with her chin propped on the counter and eyes glassy with boredom.

Ren Yamanaka was a tall, thin woman with brown eyes like the soil of a summer garden and the same strong facial features as her daughter, Ino. 

Outside of the Interrogation headquarters, Ren always wore flowing dresses with flowers embroidered along the bottom hem, her younger sister’s handiwork. 

Both Sakura and Ino dreamed of having Ren’s grace and style. Some days, it was easy to forget she was a highly skilled jounin who just happened to run a flower shop in her spare time.

From the cold edge Sakura could hear in Ren’s voice, she figured the hokage’s pen pusher was about to get a reminder.

Ino’s face lit up when she spotted Sakura in the doorway. “Billboard brow,” she mouthed with a smirk.

Sakura rolled her eyes and quietly picked her way around buckets of fresh flowers and floral displays.

“What’s up, Ino-Pig?” Sakura teased, leaning against the counter.

Ino sighed and her smile dropped. She leaned forward so she could whisper to Sakura and waved her hand towards her mom and the hokage’s assistant. “He showed up 3 hours ago with a massive flower order for a state dinner tonight and if he doesn’t stop complaining about mom’s flower choices I think she’s going to brainwash him into thinking he’s a chicken.”

Sakura slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Ino wiggled her eyebrows and her eyes glinted with wicked humor, but it didn’t last. She sighed heavily, again. 

Sakura frowned back.

“I volunteered to help in the shop, because I needed one last day of normality and sanity before the exams, but it’s been an absolute madhouse in here,” Ino reluctantly admitted and then slumped back down on the countertop. “So you just stopping by or do you have a distraction for me?”

Sakura took pity on her friend. “I need a bouquet of flowers. I want to visit my aunt’s grave and ask for a little luck before the exams. Think you can help me pick something out.”

Ino immediately perked back up. She hopped off the stool and was around the counter in a heartbeat. “So, you’re entering?”

Sakura nodded. “Of course. I can’t trust the boys to not get themselves in trouble without me.”

Ino raised an eyebrow, “Even Sasuke?”

Sakura put a hand on Ino’s shoulder and stared her straight in the eyes. “Somedays, he’s worse than Naruto.”

Ino groaned. “I guess all boys are just idiots. Come on, I’ll help you put together a nice bouquet for Hanako.”

Ino led Sakura around the store and together they picked out a variety of flowers and greenery from the buckets. Ino assembled them into a bouquet at the counter.

Sakura watched with a bit of awe. Ino’s mother specialized in cultivating flowers, particularly hardier hybrids and unique color morphs. 

Ino was the one who took those flowers and made them into a greater work of art. She had a way of combining the flowers to both highlight the beauty of each individual blossom and create an overall arrangement that was greater than the sum of its parts.

Ino had once explained that the Yamanaka clan encouraged their kids to pursue creative endeavors and learn to express themselves. It helped develop the rock solid sense of self needed to maintain their sanity while using the clan’s mind techniques. 

Ino learned to speak her mind with flowers almost before she learned to speak it with her voice. She wove layers of meaning into her work, carefully choosing the flowers for their color, texture, scent, and cultural connotations.

As Ino adjusted and tweaked the bouquet, the tension in her shoulders faded and the sound of her mother laying into a hapless aid became background noise. The looming exams became a problem for later. This was the other reason the arts were held in such high regard by the Yamanaka clan. 

The hobbies and habits Yamankas developed in childhood became a way to connect with others and shake off the darkness that came with working primarily in the village’s intelligence network.

Ino handed Sakura a bouquet. The base of the bouquet was dark evergreen foliage and sprays of Daughter’s Breath (pinhead sized, almost translucent pink, flowers). Red kunai blossoms and carnations were interspersed so as to highlight the main flower. 

Ren called them sundrop roses in the shop, where civilians made up a large portion of the customers. In the greenhouse, they had another name-- kunoichi’s hard won victory. The rose’s warm pink petals were spotted with crimson and gold.

It was a bouquet that spoke of the strength to not just endure but to thrive while calling back to and honoring those who came before.

Sakura held the bouquet gently as she paid Ino. 

Ino handed back the change and flashed Sakura a wicked grin. “I’m glad Team 7’s entering the exams. It would feel wrong if you weren’t.”

Sakura nodded. “I’m not letting you leave me behind. You are my rival after all,” she teased.

Ino’s grin widened. “Glad you haven’t forgotten. Now don’t think just because we’re friends that I’m going to go easy on you in the exams.”

Sakura snorted. “Bring it on!”

Ino snickered. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After leaving the shop, Sakura made her way to a half forgotten cemetery where a twisted cherry tree cast its shadow over a small grave.

Sakura bent to lay the flowers across her aunt’s grave. When she straightened up, she smiled. 

“Wish me luck,” Sakura said. She had no reason to linger. She didn’t need anyone’s permission, this was her choice and that alone made pride sing through her veins.

Mebuki and Kizashi came home to find Sakura sharpening her kunai at the kitchen table. “I put the roast in the oven,” Sakura said when her parents came in.

Mebuki smiled and leaned down to kiss her daughter’s cheek.

Sakura grinned.

Mebuki went to check on the roast. “I supposed I should toss the potatoes in now.”

Kizashi ruffled his daughter’s hair and stared over her shoulder. “Getting ready for a mission?”

Sakura nodded. 

“Those kunai working well for you?”

Sakura paused and flashed her dad a smile. There was a streak of blade oil on her forehead. “They’re the best.” She tilted the kunai in her hand so that first the blade caught the light and then the engraved flower.

“Good,” Kizashi smiled. His heart still raced at the sight of his daughter with a knife in her hand, but the way she twirled it between her fingers and tucked it away with a flourish eased his nerves.

“Dinner’s almost ready. I expect the only knives on the kitchen table to be the eating variety,” Mebuki called.

Kizashi and Sakura both snickered as Sakura quickly cleared the table.

“Can you tell us about your mission?” Mebuki asked. Her calm voice was betrayed by the heaping plate she set in front of Sakura.

Sakura sighed mentally. Mothering via food was Mebuki’s new go to whenever shinobi things had her worried. 

“It’s not a mission exactly. I’m entering the chuunin exams,” Sakura said it easily, like she was mentioning the weather.

Mebuki and Kizashi exchanged a glance over their daughter’s head while Sakura studied her plate and made a plan of attack.

“Does Kakashi think you’re ready?” Mebuki asked after a beat.

Sakura nodded. “He wouldn’t have let us enter if he didn’t think we were.”

“Then I better go get tickets tomorrow,” Kizashi declared.

Sakura glanced up.

Kizashi smiled, “For the third round. You better believe we’ll be there to cheer you on.”

Sakura absolutely beamed. Her shoulders relaxed in obvious relief, her cheeks flushed slightly at the praise, and the corners of her eyes wrinkled in pure joy.

That night, after Sakura had packed her go-bag and gone to bed, her parents lingered downstairs. They sat shoulder to shoulder on the couch, neither willing to give voice to the fear in their hearts. Eventually civilians heard the same rumors as the anbu and all the rumors about these exams had had plenty of time to leak out.

“We have to trust Kakashi,” Mebuki said at last.

Kizashi nodded.

\---

Sasuke laid awake for over an hour. 

Kakashi had purposely left the boys alone doing dishes. It had been the perfect opportunity to talk to Naruto about the other jinchuuriki, but Sasuke hadn’t been able to get out the words. 

Everytime Sasuke had started to open his mouth, the memory of Naruto’s face when he’d thought Sasuke had used the sharingan on him in the land of waves swam in front of the Uchiha’s eyes. Sasuke couldn’t stand to see Naruto’s face twisted with betrayal and pain.

The silence of the house was too much.

Sasuke climbed out of bed. His socked feet were silent on the wood floor. 

If Naruto was asleep, Sasuke decided he wouldn’t wake him up, but he’d say his piece anyway. That might be enough to ease the guilt in his chest. If Naruto was awake… at least in the dark Sasuke wouldn’t have to see the hurt on Naruto’s face.

Naruto’s door was pulled most of the way closed and Sasuke figured he must be asleep.

When Sasuke poked his head in the opening, he found he was wrong.

Naruto was sitting in bed with a blanket tossed over him to muffle the tattletale glow of a flashlight.

“Can’t sleep?” Sasuke asked softly.

Naruto clicked off the flashlight and pulled the blanket off his head. He blinked into the darkness, unable to see Sasuke.

Sasuke leaned against the doorframe.

  
“Can’t you?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke shrugged and then realized Naruto couldn’t see him. “No.”

Naruto frowned and narrowed his eyes at the dark blob he was pretty sure was Sasuke. “You’ve been weird all evening. What’s up? Having second thoughts?”

Sasuke swallowed hard and shifted awkwardly in the doorway.

Naruto waited.

“Can I come in?” Sasuke asked after a minute.

Naruto nodded.

Sasuke stepped in, pulled the door shut behind him, and went to sit beside Naruto on the bed.

“You know you’re important to me, right?” Sasuke started. He kept his eyes on his hands. With the door shut, he could barely make out their gray outline in the gloom.

“Sappy,” Naruto teased, but Sasuke could hear the smile in the blond’s voice. Naruto shifted so his shoulder was touching Sasuke’s. 

“Yeah, but I mean more than just that.” 

“Okay?”

“It matters what you think of me and I don’t want to hurt you.”

Naruto sighed and rested his head on Sasuke’s shoulder. “You hurt me all the time when we spar and this is the same thing. It doesn’t really count as hurting me. You never hurt hurt me. Or Sakura. If we have to fight each other, the 3 of us will be okay.”

Sasuke shifted away from Naruto. 

It wasn’t enough to dislodge the blond, but Naruto felt the shift and sat back up. Naruto frowned at Sasuke. 

“I hurt you in the land of waves.”

Naruto scoffed. “Yeah, by almost dying. Don’t do that again.”

Sasuke groaned and buried his face in his hands. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then use your words.” 

Sasuke could hear the eyeroll in Naruto’s voice. “I’m trying to figure out how to say this without messing up everything between us and you’re being intentionally dense.”

Naruto was quiet for a minute. Then, “If we have to fight, I don’t want you to go easy on me. Does that help?” 

Sasuke blinked in surprise. “I promised I wouldn’t genjutsu you.”

“You promised you wouldn’t control me. That’s different.”

Sasuke nodded. “I hadn’t even thought about having to fight you or Sakura as part of the exam,” he admitted.

“Then who were you worried about genjutsuing?”

“The other jinchuuriki.”

Naruto punched Sasuke’s shoulder. “Nice to know I rank below the competition,” he said in mock indignation.

“I wasn’t going to break my promise and genjutsu you, but I wasn’t sure if that promise extended to him as well.”

Naruo punched Sasuke’s shoulder again, a bit harder this time. “I’m not going to go easy on you. You better do the same.” His voice was light, still teasing, but there was a bit of an edge to it.

Sasuke nodded again. 

The two sat in silence.

Naruto’s chakra rolled beneath his skin and this close, Sasuke could feel it like the heat radiating off his skin. 

“I wasn’t thinking about it as going easy on you,” Sasuke promised. “There’s just some lines you don’t cross when fighting friends and I thought this was one of them for us.”

Naruto sighed and flopped back on the bed. “It was, but we’re both older and better than we were in the land of waves. You trust me to be a good jinchuuriki. It’s only fair that I trust you to not let learning actual genjutsu turn you into some sort of control freak.”

Sasuke smiled in the dark. “You’re one of the people I most want to fight in the third round. I want to see how we really stack up.”

Naruto grinned up at the ceiling. “That’ll be fun.”

“So why are you still awake?” Sasuke shifted and looked down at Naruto.

The blond yawned and fished a familiar leather bound book out from the blankets.

“Just asking them for a pep talk,” Naruto explained.

Sasuke didn’t need to ask who Naruto was referring to.

“Any words of wisdom?” Sasuke asked.

“Nah, they’re leaving that to Kakashi.”

“Great,” Sasuke said dryly, “he has such a way with words.”

Naruto snickered. “He has his moments,” he half-heartedly argued.

“Sure,” Sasuke climbed off the bed, “but if he finds out neither of us are getting any sleep that’s all we’re going to hear about.”

“Night,” Naruto said around yawn.

“See you in the morning.”

\---

In the deep of the night, a lone shinobi picked his way to the roof of a hotel. He could feel the eyes on him. He could sense the vibration of chakra from the anbu who had been assigned to watch him, like the first shift of sand before a dune gave beneath your feet.

He’d left his weapons inside and he was dressed for sleep, not that he actually intended to sleep but he had been given explicit instructions to keep up appearances.

He looked small in the moonlight. The thin, cotton sleeping clothes did little to hide the fact that he was skinny and short for his age. 

_ We don’t like people staring. _

_ No. We’ll kill them soon enough. _

_ All of them? _

_ Yes. We’ll water the sand with their blood. _

_ Even the blond one?  _ the monster teased. 

The boy could feel the laughter like teeth biting deeper into his flesh.

_ Yes. He’s not like us. _

The monster heard the disappointment in the boy’s mind and laughed harder until the sound spilled out of their shared mouth and the boy had to muffle it with his hand.

Tears blurred their vision. 

The monster sunk their teeth into the meat of their palm. Weakness wouldn’t be tolerated, not if they were to defeat the Fox.

The boy took a shuddering breath, choked back the manic laughter, and pulled his bleeding hand away from their mouth.

Sand sealed the wound. By morning, it would be healed without a scar.

The boy didn’t bother to wipe the blood from his lips.

For a moment, Gaara had felt Naruto’s chakra and dared to hope. Dared to imagine that he wasn’t alone and that there was someone else who could understand the pain in his chest, maybe even ease it. That hope had died when the black haired Uchiha stepped between them. Naruto wasn’t alone. He couldn’t know the aching emptiness or understand the way it spiked like a knife at the sight of a mother soothing her child or friends playing together. 

_ He’ll get a glimpse when we kill the Uchiha, _ the monster whispered. It filled Gaara’s mind with a picture of the blond-- soaked in his friend’s blood, blue eyes wide with horror, and hand clutching his chest as if he was the one wounded.

Gaara pressed a hand to his own chest. The shattered remnants of hope felt like glass shards beneath his skin.  _ And then we’ll kill him too. _ No one hurt them and lived. No one but themselves. They couldn’t die.

The monster hummed happily. Perhaps he’d even let the boy sleep tonight. If he was well rested, he wouldn’t be so numb to the killing they were about to do and the monster always enjoyed the flavor the boy’s turmoil added to the killing. His fear was as delicious as their victims’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 19 and 20 will be up tomorrow (late morning-ish and even respectively)


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 17 and 18 were posted yesterday (1/31/21). If you haven’t seen them yet, read them first.

Kakashi settled himself on a bench outside the academy well before sunrise. 

At 7:45, Sakura sat down beside Kakashi.

Neither said a word.

At 8:07, Sasuke arrived half dragging Naruto who was hopping along and trying to buckle one of his sandals.

“You’re late,” Kakashi said.

Naruto looked up. A mix of panic and frustration twisted his face and Kakashi wasn’t sure if he was about to start yelling or crying.

Sasuke interrupted before Naruto could do either.

“Naruto couldn’t find something. It’s not critical and we’re sorry to have caused a delay.”

Naruto pressed his lips together and nodded.

Kakashi nodded. “Make sure this is the last time you’re late during the exams. It will get you disqualified.”

Both boys ducked their heads.

Kakashi stood up and gestured for Sakura to join the boys.

Kakashi surveyed the team in front of him. They’d grown over the last 18 months. They were all a bit taller and harder. They were balanced on the razor edge between kids and teens, between genin and chuunin, between playing at being shinobi and being shinobi. It was a balance Kakashi had fought so hard to protect, but that time was over. They were growing up. The exams were like a gust of wind and all 3 of them chose to jump rather than let him shield them. They would have to find their own balance now.

3 pairs of eyes watched Kakashi expectantly.

“This is your last chance to back out,” Kakashi said.

He looked first at Sakura, but her answer was written in the hard set of her jaw. She was standing tall and proud, more than ready to hold her ground.

Next, Kakashi’s eye flickered to Sasuke. The Uchiha’s gaze dodged his. 

“The world will know who you are,” Kakashi said.

Sasuke shivered and met Kakashi’s questioning stare with a predatory grin. 

Kakashi realized the shiver was one of anticipation.

Last, Kakashi looked at Naruto. “They’ll know what you are.”

Whatever Kakashi had expected, Naruto’s laughter wasn’t it. He looked at Kakashi with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “They already know. Might as well show them what exactly that means.”

Kakashi nodded. “Congratulations, you passed my test. You’re one step closer to passing the chuunin exams.” He hoped none of them could hear the anxiety in his voice.

Three kids groaned. 

“This was like the bell test, wasn’t it?” Sakura sighed.

Kakashi shrugged. He was guilty as charged. “The exams can only be taken as a 3 man cell, but I wanted to make sure that you all wanted to participate and felt like you were ready. I didn’t want you to feel the pressure to show up to make your teammates happy.”

Kakashi held up a hand to stop any further complaints. He grabbed a bag off the ground beside the bench. “I won’t be able to help you once the exam starts. You’ll be on your own. You need to watch each others’ backs. You are each other’s strength.”

The kids nodded.

Kakashi reached into the bag. “I do have some last minute things that might help.” He held out a small box to Sakura. “This is the same kit the anbu carry. It has everything you’ll need to get the team through a mission. The pills are dosed for the 3 of you. I trust you to know how to use them.”

Sakura opened the box and held up a wicked sharp needle that glinted in the early morning light. 

“Plus you’ve got the steadiest hands and I know your other gear is more than up to par,” Kakashi added.

Sakura smiled and held the box to her chest for a heartbeat before shrugging off her own pack to make room for it.

“Remember,” Kakashi ordered, “You’re smart, clever, and stubborn. Use your head until it’s time to use that fire in your heart.”

“Yes, Kakashi-sensi.”

Kakashi turned to Sasuke and passed him a new kunai holster and a box of shuriken. The Uchiha crest was sewn on the leather holster. Inside, the blades were engraved much like Sakura’s, with tiny fans instead of flowers. 

Sasuke strapped on the extra weapons without hesitation. 

“These are anbu grade. I trust you know how to use them.”

Saskue smirked.

“Show the world what it really means to be an Uchiha.”

Sasuke’s smirk faltered. He could see the unspoken warning in Kakashi’s eye.  _ Don’t be reckless. Don’t lose yourself fighting ghosts. _ “Yes, Sensei.”

Kakashi turned to Naruto, who was shifting anxiously from foot to foot. 

Kakashi couldn’t help but smile. “I owe you an apology.”

Naruto blinked in surprise. 

“I shouldn’t have gotten after you for being late when it was my fault you were looking for these.” Kakashi pulled a familiar pair of goggles out of the bag.

Naruto opened his mouth but was, for once, lost for words.

Kakashi snorted. “I had them polished up and a new band put on. After being tied to your bag everyday since you were 6, they were a bit worse for the wear. They should actually fit now.”

Naruto snatched them out of Kakashi’s hands and immediately pulled them on. “I thought you thought they were stupid?”   
  


“I think they’re ridiculous, but I think the same thing about orange jackets.”

Naruto deflated slightly and moved to pull off the goggles.

Kakashi grabbed his hand and stopped him. “But-- look at me-- you make them both work. People are going to be watching you and they’re going to have all sorts of ideas about you. I want you to show them who you really are.”

“Naruto Uzumaki-Hatake?” Naruto asked softly.

Kakashi could hear the tears in Naruto’s voice. “Yeah. The future hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.”

Naruto smiled then, for real, and he couldn’t stop the tears from spilling. 

“No crying during the exam,” Kakashi half teased and half ordered.

Naruto shook his head and pulled the goggles down around his neck to wipe his eyes. “I just got something in my eye.”

Kakashi’s heart skipped a beat, but he plowed on. If he hesitated now he might just knock the kids out and drag them home. “Alright. You better head inside. I don’t want to make you late.” He tossed Naruto a scroll with instructions on it and nodded towards the academy.

The 3 kids walked towards the academy side by side.

Kakashi watched them go. In his mind, he saw the ghosts of Obito and Rin flanking this new team 7.  _ Watch over them while I can’t. _

\---

“Looks like we’re headed for room 301,” Naruto read off the scroll.

“What else does it say?” Sakura peered over Naruto’s shoulder.

“That’s it,” Naruto shrugged and passed the scroll to Sakura.

Sasuke checked his new kunai holster for the 3rd time. “I guess that means we need to be ready for anything.” He glanced at Sakura, “Defensive formation?”

“Spear,” Sakura said decisively. 

The boys moved without question. Nartuo took the lead with Sakura a step to his left and a step behind. Sasuke mirrored her position on the right.

The formation was cautious, but not obviously so. Naruto could take hits in the lead and buy his teammates time to get off ranged attacks. They covered each other’s blindspots and to take them from behind would be to walk into the pinch point between Sakura and Sasuke.

Sakura glanced to the side, taking stock of their team. Naruto had his trademark smile on and his hands hung loose at his sides. Anyone unfamiliar with Team 7 would think he was unprepared. Sakura could see the way his fingers were curled a bit. He’d be able to summon shadow clones almost as fast as Sasuke could draw a kunai.

Sasuke’s face was impassive. He carried himself like he was unphased. 

Sakura had to suppress a smile. She wondered if Sasuke realized he copied Kakashi when he was trying to be serious. Even his gait shifted to match Kakashi’s-- the man had an odd gait, a way of disguising the rhythmic sound of footsteps and softening his footfalls.

At the base of the stairs, Sakura took a deep breath and cleared her mind. She relaxed her chakra, letting it seep out from her skin. She could feel the chakra of several different groups of shinobi in the building. 

There were the bright smears of semi controlled chakra-- definitely genin and more specifically genin that Sakura was confident they could handle. Then, there were the sharp slashes of chakra-- well controlled-- that she hoped belonged to proctors. Finally, there were little flickers of chakra amidst the chaos. They had to be jounin, with such good control that to someone who wasn’t a gifted sensor they were all but invisible. Sakura only noticed them because Kakashi taught them to look for that sort of chakra signature after the land of waves.

As they turned up another flight of stairs, Sakura whispered to the team, “There’s a group ahead of us. Maybe 15 or 20 of them and they don’t seem to be moving around.”

The boys nodded.

Naruto’s smile looked a bit more forced now. It’s hard to walk knowingly into an ambush with a straight face, let alone one where you were outnumbered at least 5 to 1.

Sasuke remained impassive.

Team 7 rounded the corner and let out a collective sigh of relief. 

Instead of an ambush, the hallway was full of other genin about their age. They were clustered around a door and there was some sort of a commotion at the front of the crowd. 

Naruto glanced back, first at Sakura and then at Sasuke.

Both of them nodded and Naruto stepped out of formation.

Naruto scanned the crowd quickly before choosing a tall, gangly guy near the back.

The mark had a leaf headband and Naruto vaguely remembered him from the academy. He’d been 2 years ahead of Team 7, his name was Ashi or something. Pretty passive, never caused trouble, book smart, and decent with a short sword. These days, he was at least a head taller than the rest of the group. 

_ Perfect, _ Naruto smiled and nudged Ashi’s arm. “What’s going on?” Naruto asked when the teen looked down.

“There’s some kids blocking the door. A couple people have tried to get past them, but the guys in front of the door are good. No one’s even managed to land a hit on them,” Ashi whispered.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and then glanced back at his teammates.

Sasuke shrugged. “We’re going to be late if we don’t get moving.” He started weaving his way through the crowd, towards the front.

Team 7 got their first glimpse of the 2 teenagers blocking the door just as the one with spiky hair kicked a kid in a green jumpsuit upside the head and sent him flying.

Naruto winced in sympathy.

The only reason the kid didn’t smack his head on the floor was that a girl with her brown hair up in 2 buns had jumped forward to break his fall.

“You guys really think you’re ready for the chuunin exam?” the spiky haired one snorted. He nudged the kid next to him. The second kid had his hair plastered down under a head hat and a cocky smirk that Naruto immediately wanted to wipe off his face. Hat kid rolled his eyes at Spiky before turning to the crowd. 

Looking at the genine, Hat kid’s face softened slightly and his smirk turned friendly. “Why don’t you just give up now before you get hurt?” 

“Your parents are going to be worried sick if you miss dinner. You better get going. Mommy’s calling,” Spiky teased in a sing song voice.

Naruto’s eye twitched and his weight shifted forward slightly. It was just enough warning for Sakura and Sasuke to grab both of his shoulders.

Naruto glared at Sasuke.  _ Seriously?  _ His stare challenged.  _ These guys are just asking for it. _

Sasuke shook his head. There was something funny going on here.  _ Careful. We don’t know what we’re getting into, _ the look Sasuke gave Naruto said.

Naruto nodded and relaxed. 

The other 2 let go of him.

Buns girl looked up from the kid in green. They had to be teammates the way she worried over the bruise forming on his cheek. “We’re supposed to go in there.” Her voice didn’t waver as she stood up and charged the door. 

When a solid punch sent her staggering back, Sasuke narrowed his eyes. 

Buns gasped in pain and blinked her eyes like she was trying to clear tears, but the timing was just off, like she was putting on a show being in pain and there were no tears in her eyes. If the punch had connected the way it looked like it had, it should have stung. She should have been holding her face and worrying about the eye swelling shut.

While Sasuke and Naruto watched the fight, Sakura’s eyes flickered to the room number of Spiky’s head. It read “301.”

Sakura nudged Sasuke and nodded towards the sign.

For a heartbeat, Sasuke’s eyes flickered red. It was so fast that someone would have to have been watching to notice it.

A couple kids started complaining about treating the girl that rough. The crowd was inching closer to the door.

Hat and Spiky shared a look.

“If you think that was too much, you really don’t belong in these exams,” Spiky declared. “We’re being  _ nice _ .”

“We let you through and some of you are going to die,” Hat added.

The crowd went silent.

Hat nodded his approval. “And honestly, the dead ones might be the lucky ones. Others will end up crippled or driven insane. For chuunin, every mission is life or death. Chuunin are authorized to lead missions and the lives of everyone on their team are in their hands. You need to be tough enough to take the heat, cool under pressure, analytical, and skilled in every way. Either we weed out the weak or the exam will.”

“Again, were being nice,” Spiky added. His eyes flickered to Buns, “Delicate little girls don’t belong here.”

Sasuke could hear Naruto grinding his teeth in frustration. “Follow my lead,” Saskue mumbled under his breath.

Naruto married his eyes and Sasuke mentally shrugged. Either Naruto would play along or he wouldn’t and they’d have to deal with it. THey didn’t have any more time to waste here and that’s all they were doing was wasting time.

Sasuke stepped out of the crowd and walked right up to Spiky. 

Naruto and Sakura fell into step beside him.

Naruto folded his arms and alternated between glaring at Hat and Spiky.

“Nice speech,” Sasuke said. The sarcasm that dripped from his voice made Sakura grin and Naruto fought the urge to roll his eyes.

Spiky and Hat shared another unreadable look.

“Now, if you’d drop the genjutsu we’ve got places to be,” Sasuke said. 

Spiky raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure your instructions said to head to room 301.”

“Yeah, but this is only the second floor,” Sakura said. “We only climbed one flight of stairs.”

Sasuke’s eyes shifted to crimson and stayed that way. “I can see through your genjutsu, not that I’d need to. It’s just ocular. Nothing to confuse someone’s sense of height or direction.”

Spiky’s eyes widened and then his expression soured.

Hat made a hand sign and dispersed the illusion. 301 became 201.

Sasuke smirked and turned back towards the stairs.

“If you’re so smart, let’s see you handle this,” Spiky growled.

It was all the warning Sasuke had before the other kid lunged.

Sasuke shifted his weight. There was only so much he could do to dodge from this position and distance. Spiky was going to land a glancing blow on his shoulder, but If Sasuke could stay on his feet, he’d be in perfect position to retaliate with a kick to the ribs.

The blow never came and Sasuke’s foot connected far too early. Even with the sharingan, all he saw was a blur of green. 

Next thing Sasuke knew, the green jumpsuit kid was between Spiky and him. Jumpsuit had caught both of their kicks.

The bruise on his face was gone and when he raised his head, the pieces clicked together. Up close, the kid’s jumpsuit was very familiar. As was his perfect bowl cut.

Jumpsuit shoved Spiky back and let go of Sasuke’s foot.

“So much for keeping a low profile,” Buns muttered. She and another boy with the distinctive silver eyes of the Hyuga clan quickly stepped up beside Jumpsuit-- between him and Spiky.

Spiky and Hat shared a smile and nodded at the group of genin. 

“Maybe some of you are ready, afterall,” Spiky said and the pair vanished in a puff of smoke.

While the rest of the genin milled about muttering and considering what the 2 vanished teens had said, green jumpsuit turned back to Sasuke.

“Sorry about that, but I’d have hated for anyone to get kicked out of the exams before they even start. There’s not supposed to be any unsanctioned fighting.”

  
Sasuke nodded. “No big deal.” He held out his hand. “Sasuke Uchiha.” 

Jumpsuit shook the offered hand, “Lee,” then he stepped past Sasuke and flashed Sakura brilliant smile.

“Sakura Haruno,” Sakura offered.

Lee shook her hand with wide eyes and an impossibly wider smile. “You’re beautiful and brilliant!”

Sakura blinked twice. “Thanks?”

“The way you figured out the genjutsu was awesome!”

Sakura fought the urge to duck her head at the praise and the blush she could feel rising on her cheeks.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

Sakura froze. 

Lee plowed forward. “I vow to protect you with my life!” He flashed Sakura another dazzling smile and a thumbs up.

“No.” 

Lee’s smile faltered for a second, but he pasted back on like a champ. It only looked a little bit like a grimace. “I understand and respect your decision, but my offer stands.”

Sakura winced and quickly stepped past Lee to introduce herself to his 2 teammates alongside Sasuke.

Bun, aka Tenten, and the Hyuga, Neji, both introduced themselves to Sakura politely, but it was obvious they were most interested in Sasuke. 

_ Scoping out the competition _ , Sakura and Sasuke both thought a bit grimly.

Naruto lingered behind the others. No one had spared him a glance at this point and he resolved to ignore them as well as they were ignoring him. He’d show them sooner or later that he wasn’t someone to discount. Still… it stung a bit.

Naruto glanced at Lee who was still rooted in place with a horrible fake smile on his face.  _ Could be worse, _ Naruto thought and decided to take pity on Lee.

“You must be Gai’s student. We’re Kakashi’s team.”

Lee’s smile shifted from fake to genuine in an instant. “Brilliant! What gave it away? Our youthful strength and cunning? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Afteralll Kakashi-sensi is Gai-sensei’s most esteemed rival. Of course Kakashi’s students would be perceptive and skilled. I suppose that makes us rivals as well…”

Naruto’s eyes glazed over a bit as Lee rambled. “Uh… Really it was the jumpsuit,” he interrupted after a minute.

Lee just grinned wider. “It is form fitting while allowing for a full range of motion-- perfect for close combat. The material is high end shinobi fabric, resistant to glancing cuts and designed to maintain a perfect temperature in all weather. Plus it’s stylish!”

Naruto just nodded.

“Your jacket is also very stylish. Orange is a great color and your goggles are very practical. A good shinobi should be ready for anything.”

Naruto wasn’t sure if he should take the compliment or be offended by it. He narrowed his eyes. 

If Lee was mocking, he was on a whole new level. Every over the top, enthusiastic word seemed completely sincere and genuine. Naruto nodded. He respected that. Kid was weird, but he was Naruto’s kind of weird.

“We should get going. Don’t want to be late,” Tenten said. She tapped Lee’s shoulder and he turned to follow her and Neji towards the stairs.

Halfway there, Lee turned back and hollered at Team 7, “Don’t be late! Getting disqualified would be a poor start to our rivalry.”

Tenten all but dragged Lee up the stairs.

Team 7 exchanged glances.

Sakura’s eyes flickered to the clock on the wall. They still had a couple minutes. “Give me one sec?” she asked. She rubbed her face, breathed deeply, and tried to will the blush off her face.

Naruto snickered. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush like that.”

Sakura glared at him. “You know what, Lee’s weird and has no sense of fashion, but at least he compliments people when they’ve earned it.” She started for the stairs.

“You shut him down hard,” Naruto remarked.

Sakura’s shoulders sagged. “I didn’t mean to. My brain just sort of short circuited. At least I didn’t lead him on, right?”

Naruto shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll get over it.”

“That team’s going to be one to watch out for,” Sasuke said half to himself.

The other 2 cocked their heads to the side and waited for him to elaborate.

“Hyuga’s self-explanatory, Tenten’s got 6 different scrolls holstered to her belt and the calluses on her hands suggest she’s familiar with a variety of weapons, Lee dresses like a miniature Maito Gai and he’s unnaturally fast so I think it’s safe to assume he’s a similar sort of taijutsu expert.”

Naruto and Sakura nodded thoughtfully and then Naruto shrugged.

“Doesn’t really matter. Everyone here’s competition,” Naruto said.

Team 7 started up the stairs with Sasuke in the lead.

“It’s uncanny how much Lee looks and acts like Gai. Imagine if one of us did that with Kakashi. It’d be so creepy,” Sasuke muttered.

Sakura burst out laughing.

Sasuke turned around and frowned at her.

Sakura held her hands out in front of her so her hands covered most of Sasuke’s face. 

Naruto leaned over Sakura’s shoulder and his eyes widened. “That’s creepy. You better never need an eyepatch. Now that I’ve seen it, I’ll never unsee it.”

Sasuke just groaned and kept climbing.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters 17 and 18 were posted yesterday (1/31/21). Chapter 19 was posted a couple hours ago (2/1/21). If you haven’t read those 3 already, you should look at them before this chapter.

Room 301 was one of the largest rooms in the academy. In the winter, it served as a cafeteria and indoor training facility. 

Today, the tables were down like lunch was almost ready, but the seats were full of unfamiliar faces.

Team 7 stepped through the double doors and closed ranks on instinct. 

Every eye in the room flickered to them. 

“There’s so many,” Sakura murmured.  _ Is this more or less than normal? Things are tense. Was the last exam before the 3rd War bigger than normal, too? I think I remember reading that… _

Naruto nudged Sakura’s shoulder and flashed her a grin. “The more competition the better.”

“You’re almost late!” Kiba yelled from a nearby table.

At last, Team 7 spotted a familiar cluster. Team 8 and Team 10 were sitting together at a table beside the door.

Team 7 picked their way towards the other Konoha rookies. Sasuke led the way, careful not to bump anyone in the crowded room. The tension in the air was so thick he could feel it like electricity in the air before lightning stuck. 

Naruto slid onto a bench seat between Shikamaru and Kiba. 

Ino flashed Sakura a grin and offered to share her stool at the head of the cramped table.

Sasuke stayed standing, back to the wall, watching the competition. The exams hadn’t officially started, but he wouldn’t put it past someone to try eliminating the competition or losing their temper.

“We were starting to think you guys weren’t coming,” Kiba teased. He smirked up at Naruto. Akamaru poked his head out from Kiba’s jacket and woofed in agreement.

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Like we’d miss this? Please,” He waved his hand dismissively, “There were some assholes using a genjutsu to trick people. We got rid of them.”

Kiba shrugged. “Yeah. We saw them, but they didn’t really bother us. Akamaru has this whole place scent marked and ocular genjutsu doesn’t really work on dogs, different light receptors and all that.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the implications of scent marking.

Kiba just laughed.

Shikamaru sighed and rested his chin on the table. “We all saw them. Difference is we were smart enough to let the idiots get disqualified,” he mumbled. “The assholes had a point about people not being ready.”

“Weren’t you trying to get out of doing the exams?” Naruto asked.

“Yeah. I was happy to play along with the genjutsu, but Ino noticed it. I’m not going to argue with her.”

Naruto snorted.

“These exams are going to be such a pain. People take this shit way too seriously,” Shikamaru all but whined.

“As much as I hate to agree,” Kiba started. His eyes darted around the room, “People need to take a chill pill. Like it’s just an exam. I’ve already heard 4 different people issue death threats and from their heart rates, they were serious.”

Naruto crossed his arms and glared out across the room. “Well I’m not afraid of anyone. I’m not going to let anyone scare me off and I’m going to pass this stupid exam and any one who gets in the way is going to get a foot up their ass.”

Kiba laughed. “You tell them. While they’re all distracted trying to kill you we’ll have an easy time making it to the 3rd round.”

Shikamaru groaned. “Public death matches are such a drag.”

“Didn’t you say your parents already bought tickets?” Kiba asked.

Shikamaru just groaned again. “Expectations are a drag.”

“And you’re not the only person here who feels that weight,” a stranger interrupted from behind Shikamaru. 

Shikamaru didn’t move or tense, but under the table his hands formed all but the last sign for a shadow possession jutsu. 

Kiba’s hand went immediately to his kunai pouch.

Naruto swivelled around to face the stranger. He was a teenager, maybe 15 or 16, not much older than them. His hair was the same shade of silver as Kakashi’s and his eye color was indiscernible behind the thick glasses he wore. His Konoha forehead protector was barely enough to keep his bangs out of his eyes.

The teen brushed his floppy bangs out of the way and glared at the younger genin. “You’d best lower your voice and check your ego. People are watching and judging you. It’s stupid to make yourself a target this early on and I was led to believe that the rookie 9 were anything but stupid. Especially you. Shikamaru Nara, right?”

At that, Shikamaru did sit up and turn to face the stranger. “Who are you?”

“Someone who’s been here before and has a vested interest in Konoha-nin not dying.” The teen tapped his forehead protector. 

Shikamaru shrugged. “Like that’s supposed to make us trust you? Politics are a drag. I avoid them at all costs, but even I know a cheap trick like that.” Then Shikamaru laid back down on the table and ignored the teen.

Kiba just kept staring, eyes narrowed and nostrils flaring.

The teen surveyed the table. “Inuzuka,” he nodded to Kiba. “Aburame, Akimichi, Yamanaka, civilian, Hyuuga-- that ‘ll be interesting--, Uchiha, and…” the teen’s eyes settled on Naruto, “Very interesting.”

“As far as nicknames go, I’ll take that one,” Naruto teased. He held out his hand. “Naruto Uzumaki-Hatake.”

The teen shook the offered hand. “Kabuto.”

“Nice to meet you,” Naruto said. “How’d you know everyone?”

Kabuto smiled and it made his too big glasses slide down his nose. He shoved them back into place and fished a deck of playing cards out of his pocket. “Feel like playing a game to pass the time? I’ll answer your question while we play.”

Naruto shrugged. 

Kabuto waved for Naruto to follow him. They ended up sitting on the floor by the wall, not far from where Sasuke was keeping watch.

Kabuto showed Naruto how to play Gin Rummy and Naruto got so wrapped up trying to remember the rules and figure out the strategy that he forgot about his question.

After a couple hands, Kabuto gathered up the cards and shuffled them back into his deck.

Naruto frowned. He was pretty sure he hadn’t lost already.

“As promised,” Kabuto said with a smile, like he could read Naruto’s mind. Kabuto drew a card from the deck-- Jack of Hearts. He set the card on the ground facing Naruto and then made a hand sign. The image on the card shifted. Naruto saw his own picture, right off his Shinobi identification card.

Naruto picked up the card and frowned. Under his picture, it listed his stats-- height, weight, mission record, specialization, and had a section for notes.

The specialization section just read “jinchuuriki.”

In the notes section the words, “Bad at Gin Rummy,” appeared.

Naruto glanced between the card and Kabuto. “Little stalkery, but kind of neat?”

Kabuto burst out laughing. “A fair assessment.”

Sasuke leaned over Naruto and glanced at the card.

“Sorry for listening, but I haven’t seen you around much,” Sasuke said. “The card’s interesting. Do you have one of these for everyone in the exam? Do you work in the records office or something?” 

Kabuto smiled up at Sasuke and drew another card out of the deck. “King of hearts.” He held it up to Sasuke.

“Why’s he get to be the king?” Naruto asked.

Kabuto patted Naruto’s shoulder. “I don’t choose people’s cards. You just get whatever happens to be the first un-used one I grab.”

Sasuke frowned at his own picture. Specialization: Sharingan and mid/long range fire style. Notes: blank. He handed the card back. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Kabuto’s smile widened. “Stalker’s not the way I’d describe myself, but this isn’t the first time someone’s made the accusation. I don’t stalk people, but I notice things. I’m good at blending in and it’s amazing what grown-ups will discuss when they think they’re alone.”

Sasuke nodded. He settled on the floor beside Naruto. “And you’ve been in the chuunin exams before?” 

Kabuto nodded. “This is my third try. Might be my last. If I don’t pass I’ll probably apply for a job as a clerk in the hokage’s office. Might be more useful there than as a perpetual genin.”

“Do you want to be a clerk?” Naruto asked. 

Kabuto shrugged. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”

“So you have information on the other teams?” Sasuke pressed.

“Mostly just Konoha’s teams, but there’s a couple teams of people like me. I have data on them from the last exam. I’ve also been collecting rumors, but most of them remain unverified.”

Sasuke nodded. 

“If you’re up for trading information, I’m more than happy to help a younger team out,” Kabuto offered.

“I don’t have any information to trade,” Sasuke said.

“I highly doubt I’ve managed to summarize the whole of your shinobi experience on my card.”

Sasuke hesitated. “I specialize in long range, small weapons and I’m the only one who can tie a decent snare on Team 7.” His voice was just barely loud enough for Kabuto to hear.

“You’re a well balanced team. I can see why the betting odds favor Team 7 so heavily. So what competition are you looking to scope out?”

“Lee, from Konoha, and Gaara, from Suna.”

Kabuto passed Sasuke 2 cards. Naruto did his best to read over Sasuke’s shoulder.

“Rock Lee.  **Specialization** : Taijutsu (Rumor: Unique form, abilities beyond the human body’s physical limit).  **Notes** : (Rumor: Unable to utilize chakra).

Gaara of the Sand.  **Specialization** : Jinchuuriki.  **Notes** : (Rumor: violent temper), (Rumor: teammates are his older siblings), (Rumor: son of the kazekage).”

Sasuke passed the cards back.

Naruto had a goofy grin on his face.

A loud bell cut through the chatter in the room.

“That’s our cue. I’d better join my team. Good luck!” Then Kabuto vanished in a swirl of wind.

“He’s better than he lets on,” Sasuke said to Naruto. 

Naruto nodded, but he wasn’t listening. His mind was full of a single phrase on endless repeat.  _ He’s like me! _ Gaara wasn’t just a jinchuuriki. He was also the son of a Kage. The note about his temper did little to dull Naruto’s excitement, afterall he wouldn’t be surprised if Kabuto just left that off his card to be polite.

\---

Genin staggered to their feet as the bell continued to ring. Kunai were drawn. Defensive positions were assumed. Teammates scrambled to close ranks.

Sakura ducked under the arms of a tall teenager and bolted for where she’d last seen the boys. 

Sasuke and Naruto were both pressed against the wall.

Sasuke’s crimson eyes scanned the room. Every muscle in his body was tensed for attack.  _ They wouldn’t just throw us in here to fight? _ He tried to convince himself that the ongoing bell was some sort of technical glitch. The proctor would intrerupt over the PA any second and calm this mess down before anyone drew blood.

Naruto had his hands over his ears and his eyes narrowed at the speaker on the wall like he was contemplating putting a kunai through it.

The longer the shrill sound ground on Sasuke’s nerves the less he believed himself. 3 thoughts replaced everything else. 1) Any jounin worth the title would understand the way the tension in the room resembled a powder keg. 2) Any reasonable jounin wouldn’t risk an international incident, now, for the purpose of harassing wannabe chuunin. 3) Team 7 needed to regroup and find a spot away from the densest crowd.

When Sakura slipped into place on Sasuke’s right, he let himself breathe a bit deeper.

“GOOD MORNING,” A cold voice boomed over top of the bell. 

All sound stopped without warning. The silence that followed felt deadly.

The doors at the far end of the room opened and16 shinobi bearing the insignia of varying village strode in. 

The lead man was tall and broad shouldered. He wore his konoha forehead protector sewn to a black skull cap and his intimidating form was accentuated by the long, black coat that billowed behind him. He walked with a purpose and the crowd of genin parted before him.

It was only when the man and his phalanx of proctors made it to the center of the room that Team 7 was able to get a good look at the man. 

_ Scary, _ was Sakura’s first thought. The man’s eyes were utterly devoid of emotion and the thick scars that cut across his face had healed poorly-- they gave him a permanent frown the way the skin pulled.

_ He looks as insane as he’s got to be, _ Sasuke thought grimly. 

Naruto grinned, predatory and feral.  _ Got to give him credit for the entrance. This is going to be fun. _

The man clapped his hands and every eye in the room settled on him. “Now that I have your attention, we can get started,” the man smiled. His scars pulled wide.

Sakura frowned. It looked like the scar that crossed his lips was cracking, red and on the edge of bleeding from the gesture. It had to sting. Just like that, he seemed much less scary. Sakura tried to picture the man without the scars.  _ Strong jaw, good cheekbones, _ her mom would definitely have called him handsome. 

“I am Ibiki Morino of Konohagakure. Behind me are my assistants. In the interest of avoiding any accusations of bias, they are representative of every village participating in this exam. They will be assisting me in proctoring the first part of the chuunin exam,” Ibiki swept the room with a calculating gaze, “They will also assist me in maintaining order.” The threat behind the words was clear.

Genin dipped their heads in either fear or submission or understanding.

Ibiki nodded his approval and smiled again. It was another, painful and unnatural looking grimace that did little to put anyone at ease. “When your name is called, step forward to receive an answer sheet and proceed to the classroom next door. There is a seat and a row number on the opt of your answer sheet. You will sit in your designated seat. Once everyone is seated, I will explain the rules of this test.”

Beside Sasuke, Naruto went ridgid. “Did he say answer sheet?”

Sasuke and Sakura shared a sympathetic look. Sasuke put a hand on Naruto’s right shoulder and Sakura put one on his left. “Don’t worry,” Sakura whispered. “Kakashi said these exams could only be taken as a team of 3. They won’t fail just you and Sasuke and I can get us through this round.”

  
Naruto didn’t look convinced.

“Buck up,” Sasuke muttered. “I know you’re not actually an idiot.”

Naruto nodded. He looked slightly less green.  _ Kakashi promised no written test. _

On-by-one room 301 emptied and 302 filled. The lecture hall was an old style and could only fit all of them on a technicality. The desks were close together and small. It was cramped and as the room filled up, it was hot.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. The place smelled like moldy carpet and disuse with a hint of despair.

Team 7 found themselves scattered around the room. 

Naruto was in his favorite part of the room, midway between the back and front and off to the teacher’s left side. It was the place that teachers looked the least often, unless of course they were Iruka Sensei who knew all the tricks.

Hinata settled on Naruto’s right. The desks were so close that her shoulder bumped his and she foldered herself back into the seat, putting a bit of space between her and Naruto as well as the Grass ninja on her right.

Naruto flashed her a small smile which she returned for a heartbeat before her eyes flickered down to her lap.

Ibiki stood in the front of the room. His assistant proctors lined the edges. “The rules of this test are simple. Right now, all of you have 10 points. In a minute, my assistants will pass out the question booklet. In it are 9 questions. For each wrong answer you will lose 1 point. If you are caught cheating, each occurrence will cost both you and the person you cheated off 2 points. If you finish the exam with 0 points, your team will be eliminated. If every member of the team finished with at least 1 point, your team’s scores will be combined. Only the top scoring teams will progress to the second round.”

Ibiki paused and surveyed the room, carefully cataloguing each genin’s reaction. 

A couple hands rose in the air.

“THE ONLY PERSON ALLOWED TO ASK QUESTIONS IS ME!” Ibiki thundered.

  
The room held its collective breath and the hands dropped immediately.

Ibiki nodded and began to pace the front of the room. “Those of you proficient in math have likely realized 2 things by this point. 1) the number of questions and the number of points don’t line up. This is because the 10th question will be given orally 1 hour into the exam. 2) Cheating will not pay off. Getting caught will cost you more than any question is worth. It will cost you any hope you ever had of becoming a chuunin.”

With that, Ibiki waved for the other proctors to begin passing out the question booklets.

\---

Kakashi didn’t really know what to do with himself after sending the kids inside. He wandered around town for a bit before finding himself outside the shinobi bar he’d dragged Iruka to the day before. In the light of day, it was pretty shabby, but situated near the academy, the hokage’s office, and the anbu headquarters it did steady business and was open all hours. The home brewed shinobi beer tasted like shitty tap water from Ame, but he’d washed down enough missions with the stuff to acquire a taste. They also had good, hearty food and Gai loved the endless peanuts.

Kakashi ducked inside and realized he was far from the only one to end up wandering familiar paths.

The 3 jounin sensei had claimed a table in the back corner.

Gai waved when he saw Kakashi duck in and Kakashi had no choice but to join the table. He pulled up a chair between Asuma and Gai.

Predictably, Gai had a whole bowl of peanuts that he was holding close to his chest and was drinking some sort of sugary soda. Gai never drank alcohol. He’d once told Kakashi he didn’t like the person it made him. Kakashi took that to mean that Gai was a sad drunk.

Kurenai tried to swipe a peanut from Gai’s bowl and he batted her hand away lightly.

Kurenai just rolled her eyes.

Kakashi eyed the pile of peanut shells in front of Gai. “I’m sensing a bit of anxiety,” he said dryly.

“You say that like you aren’t worried,” Asume raised an eyebrow. 

Kakashi shrugged. “More bored. Quiet without the genin.”

Asuma snorted. He reached for a cigarette in his pouch, but stopped his hand short.

Kakashi noticed the pouch wasn’t stuffed full the way it usually was and when he took a deep breath, the only smoke Kakashi smelled on the man was at least one wash old. 

From the little smile on Kurenai’s face, Kakashi figured it had to be her doing.

That made Kakashi smile. It must be getting serious if she could inspire Asuma to put down the cigarettes.

“Well, I doubt any of us will be bored for too long,” Asuma said.

Kakashi cocked his head to the side as he waved to the waitress.

“I heard they gave the first round to Ibiki Morino,” Asuma answered Kakashi’s unasked question.

The waitress brought Kakashi a shinobi beer.

Kakashi took a drink and grimace, half from the drink and half from the idea of an exam run by Ibiki.

“The first exam might be a little difficult,” Kakashi admitted. “But I have faith in the genin. Wouldn’t have let them enter if I didn’t.”

Kurenai glanced between Kakashi and Asuma. “Who’s Ibiki? I don’t think I’ve met him.”

“He’s a couple years older than us,” Asuma said. “I think Kakashi was in his graduating class.”

Kakashi nodded. “He’s a bit of a sadist and excellent at his job.”

“To put it in context, he’s the head of joint head of Torture and Interrogation alongside Inoichi,” Asuma added.

Kurenai laughed nervously. “He’s not going to actually torture them, right?”

Gai shovelled peanuts in faster. 

“Physically no, mentally and emotionally though…” Asuma trailed off. 

“He’ll definitely get in their heads. We might see a smaller number move to the second stage, but he won’t eliminate everyone,” Kakashi argued.

Asuma just shrugged.

“Then, they’ll get to play with me,” Anko whispered in Kakashi’s ear.

Kakashi considered it a great show of restraint and mental agility that he managed to identify the voice and rein in his shinobi instincts before he cracked her over the head with his glass.

Anko just laughed and dragged over a chair from another table. She sat in it backwards and grinned at the 4 sensei.

“Relax,” she chided. “I won’t kill anybody.”

None of the other jounin relaxed.

Anko just sighed. “You guys were a lot more fun before the kids turned you into a bunch of worrywarts.” She patted Kakashi on the shoulder, “Except for you, the kids seem to have actually gotten you to lighten up a bit. It's an improvement.”

“Thanks?”

“Anytime. I’m always happy to give you a pep talk, Hatake.”

Kakashi snorted.

Anko rested her chin on the back of the chair. “So what now?”

“We wait,” Asuma said. “If you want peanuts, you should ask the bartender for your own bowl.”

Anko just laughed.

\---

_ History question. History question. Please have a history question,  _ Naruto pleaded with the gods of all things academic,  _ I just need one. Just one history question. Third war if possible. _

The second the question booklet was in his hands, Naruto flipped rapidly through the pages. It was entirely math and not just normal math. The questions were multi step word problems. It was complex calculus, thermodynamics, and aerodynamics wrapped in over complicated technical paragraphs with misleading details and the objective buried underlayers of passive voice and jargon.

Naruto froze.  _ I can’t answer these. I don’t even know where to start… I... _ His mind went blank. His heart rate spiked and his vision blurred with tears he refused to let fall. 

Sasuke took his question booklet and started reading the first question. On his third re-read he figured out what it was actually asking. He knew conceptually how to solve the problem, but the technical details were so far beyond what was taught in the academy that realistically there was no way he could brute force his way to the answer with the skills he did have. 

Sasuke moved onto the second question and then the third and so on. Some concepts he vaguely remembered Kakashi going over during study sessions in preparation for the academy graduation exams. Iruka had challenged Sakura, Shikamaru, and a couple of the others to take an advanced certification exam. 

Sakura received her test booklet, read through all the problems, and started working on the one she figured would take the least time.  _ This one’s going to be on me. I need to get us points. _

Sasuke closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced himself to relax.  _ There’s no way an ordinary genin would know how to solve these. There’s got to be some sort of trick. _

“Number 179! Eyes on your paper. That’s 2 points,” Ibiki thundered. 

Near the back of the room, a Iwa nin froze.

Sasuke’s eyes widened. He kept his head down to hide the smirk he couldn’t stop as relief washed through him. There was a trick. The point wasn’t to know the answers, it was to cheat without getting caught. No one was penalised for cheating, they were penalised for cheating badly.  _ There’s got to be plants in the group who have the right answers. _

Sasuke kept his head down, but his eyes wandered. Few people were writing. Out of his peripheral vision he saw various expressions of horror, disbelief, despair, and frustration. Only one person in the vicinity had their head down writing steadily. Sasuke couldn’t see the guy’s face, but his posture looked calm and relaxed. 

The sharingan sharpened Sasuke’s vision. When he used the sharingan in a fight, it was almost meditative. The world slowed down and he relaxed. His mind processed the flood of sensory information and his body responded on instinct. He dodged and blocked with ease. 

Sasuke figured if he could find that same mental and physical state now that he could copy his mark’s hand movements well enough to get the answers. 

Sasuke watched the teenager’s hand with all his focus, relaxed his own hand, and calmed his thoughts. His pencil scared across the paper and in a few minutes he had an answer. Now the trick would be figuring out which question it was for. If he was lucky this guy was working in order.

Sasuke’s mark rubbed his hand, turned the page, and started writing again. 

Sasuke’s last thought before he focused back in on copying was,  _ I hope Naruto’s realized he needs to cheat. _

Shikamaru covertly glanced around the room. Ino was too far away for his shadow possession jutsu to reach in the brightly lit room, but Choji was in range.

When Choji felt the shadow possession creep over his body, he didn’t fight it.

_ Hopefully they aren’t analyzing handwriting,  _ Shikamaru thought as he wrote both he and Choji’s answers.

Further down the row from Shikamaru, Kiba stared at his paper with narrowed eyes.

Akamaru was nestled in his hood, peering over his shoulder that the answer sheet of a girl with bright green hair. From the sound of her pencil on paper, she knew what she was doing.

Akamaru whined and then let a woof that Kiba felt more than heard.

_ This would be so much easier if it was multiple choice _ , Kiba thought grimly.  _ Sad tail wag shaped mark equals smudged pawprint shape over distant flying bird… What the hell does that even mean? _

Kiba may have teared up a bit when a little beetle crawled onto his sheet and nudged his pencil-- not that Kiba would ever admit it. 

Shino’s beetles didn’t know math, but the pen a redheaded teen was using spelled remarkably like a female’s pheromone and the males were more than capable of reproducing the pen strokes.

Naruto took a shaky breath.  _ I’m not going to quit now. There’s still the 10th question. Best case I know how to solve it. Worst case I still score the 0 I currently have. _ He forced himself to relax.

Beside him, Hinata’s pen moved slowly as she traced a beetle’s path and then faster as she checked the work and added in a dropped negative sign. She sent the bug back to Shino and Kiba with the correction, so that they could double and triple check the work. While she waited, she kept her head down.

“Naruto.”

Naruto was half convinced he’d imagined someone saying his name it was so quiet, but beside him, Hinata shifted. She adjusted her arm so that he had a clear view of her answer sheet. 

“It’s okay,” Hinata breathed.

Naruto’s mouth opened slightly. She was willing to risk getting caught cheating for him. It was tempting. It was really tempting, but Naruto could feel eyes on him.

“No,” Naruto breathed back. “Not going to get you in trouble.”

Hinata didn’t respond, just left her paper visible.

A proctor walked closer.

“It’ll get all of you in trouble,” Naruto hissed. She needed to cover her paper fast.

Hinatat nodded back, almost imperceptibly. Her heart was loud in her ears and a pang of guilt jabbed through her chest. If she got caught helping Naruto, it would hurt Kiba and Shino too. She hadn’t thought about that.

The proctor kept walking.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.  _ You’re too nice, _ he thought in Hinata’s direction,  _ but thank you. _

As time dragged on, cheaters were called out. People hit 0 points and were removed alongside their teammates. Ibiki made a show of it. He berated the cheater, described in detail how they had cheated, and demanded to know why they would let down their team like that? No one had an answer. There were tears.

Sakura did her best to watch the clock, but at one point she lost track of 5 precious minutes. In the row behind her, Ino grinned and started writing.

The Suna-nin with war paint took a bathroom break. He was escorted by a Kiri proctor that no one else remembered meeting.

Ibiki considered letting the kid get away with that. It really was an amazing mix of puppetry and transformation jutsu. 

When the kid caught his eye and gave Ibiki a cocky smirk, Ibiki quietly marked him down 2 points. Arrogance had no place in information gathering.

One of the chuunin plants rubbed her eye. It felt like there was a bit of sand or an eyelash, but she couldn’t seem to get rid of the gritty feeling.

Neji’s eyes gave him his pick of answers. A subtle code of body language passed them to Lee and Tenten.

Tenten checked the answers and communicated the correct option back to Neji with handsigns in her lap that only a Hyuga could see.

Lee watched Tenten’s paper in the reflection of a polished kunai. Propped under seats, stabbed into the wall, and carefully arranged to keep someone from spotting a metallic glare, the series of metallic kunai were one of Tenten’s favorite multipurpose tools.

45 minutes into the exam, Ibiki clapped his hands. “It’s almost time,” he announced. His eyes swept the room. “Please put your pens and pencils down.”

The soft click of pencils on formica desks was audible in the quiet.

Ibiki’s face softened, he looked almost sympathetic. “In 15 minutes, I will give you the final question. I must apologize for misleading you in the beginning. This question carries more weight than the others. Those of you that are left are honest shinobi with genuine potential. It’s only fair that I return that same honesty and give you a chance to decide if you want to hear the final question.”

Naruto gripped his pencil tightly.  _ If it’s worth more, this could be my chance. _

“If you get the 10th question wrong, you will drop to 0 points automatically. Your team will fail and you personally will be barred from ever competing in the chuunin exams again.”

  
A ripple of gasps and stifled protest passed through the room.

Ibiki nodded. “Should you decide you aren’t ready, you can walk out now. Your team will be disqualified, but all 3 of you will be able to enter the exams again at a later date.”

A boy in the front row shifted to look back at his teammate. 

Ibiki slammed his hands onto the boy’s desk. The boom echoed through the room. “Get out,” Ibiki ordered. His voice wasn’t loud, but the authority it carried was unmistakable.

The boy jumped to his feet, scrambled for his thing, and bolted from the room. 

  
The proctors nodded for his teammates to follow him.

Ibiki re-evaluated the room. “This is a personal decision. You do not get to make it for anyone else,” his voice was cold. It was clear he was disappointed.

A couple more people stood up and headed for the door. Some mumbled apologies to their teammates. 

Ibiki nodded.

When the trickle of those who gave up slowed to a stop, Ibiki’s lips curled into a snarl. “Really?!” he growled. “I give you a chance. I try to help you and you’re too arrogant to listen.” He paced the front of the room. “Let me spell it out for you. You are not ready. You are sloppy, young, and foolish. In the real world, your arrogance will get your team killed. You don’t deserve to be in this room and you certainly don’t deserve to be proposed to chuuin, to be trusted as leaders.” The man’s voice was deadly.

People shrank in their seats. 

“Get out!” Ibiki screamed.

A girl burst into tears and bolted for the exit.

Ibiki’s demeanor shifted again. His rage became something gentle. “Please leave. It’s not giving up. It’s playing smart. It’s living to fight another day.”

Sakura stared down at her answer book. She’d completed 6 of the 9 questions, but she wasn’t sure she’d done 2 of them right. There was no guarantee she’d be able to get the last one right. And then, what about Naruto? These questions were way over his head and he was too stubborn to admit it. Sasuke wasn’t likely to be any different. 

Tears blurred Sakura’s vision for the first time, she didn’t feel like the weak link. It felt worse than she could ever have imagined.  _ It’s not fair. This whole thing isn’t fair. _ Sakura took a deep breath and then another.  _ I have to do this. My pride doesn’t matter. I can’t let them throw away their dreams. One more deep breath and then I’ll stand up. _

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn’t worried about Sakura. He was pretty sure at one point he saw Ino use a mind switch to copy her answers. 

Sasuke was worried about Naruto. Neither of them were able to answer the questions and Naruto wasn’t the sort to cheat. Tricks, jokes, and pranks were one thing but admitting he couldn’t do something that was a whole different situation. Naruto was stubborn. In all their years at the academy, Sasuek had offered to do Naruto’s homework twice. Both times, Naruto had politely declined and spent all night beating his head against it until he had it done. 

Sasuke ground his teeth and glanced at the clock. The 15 minutes were almost up.  _ Come on Naruto. Just quit.  _ He willed Naruto to stand up. If Naruto didn’t do it soon. Sasuke decided he would do it.  _ Can’t become Hokage if you’re stuck a genin forever. _

Naruto felt like he was going to puke. His hands were shaking, but when he stood up his legs were steady.

Ibiki nodded. “Smart kid, 246. Number 129 and 57 grab your things as well.”

“NO!” Naruto slammed his hands on his desk and it echoed just as loudly as when Ibiki had done it. “I’m not giving up! I’m not going to just roll over for a bully like you, so finish up your little power trip and read us the damn question.”

Sakura buried her head face in her hands, not sure whether to cry or laugh.

Sasuke’s mouth dropped open.

Naruto wasn’t done yet. “And I’m not 246. I’m Naruto Uzumaki-Hatake. You better remember the name, because I’m going to be the Hokage one day. You will not stop me. Your question won’t stop me. This exam won’t stop.”

Sasuke slumped in his seat and covered his mouth to hide a smile.  _ And the number 1 unpredictable loudmouth ninja strikes again. _

People snickered. Someone laughed. Others nodded in agreement.

Naruto held Ibiki’s cold stare. The blond refused to sit down. 

The clock ticked forward.

Naruto and Ibiki remained locked in a glaring contest.

No one else moved for the door.

At exactly 1 hour after the start of the exam, Ibiki nodded to Naruto. 

Ibiki shifted his gaze from Naruto to survey the rest of the room. There were more genin left than he had expected.  _ The way people follow him, he might actually make a good hokage one day. _

  
Ibiki clapped his hands. “Will all chuunin and jounin please join me up front.”

The proctors assembled behind Ibiki.

Then a handful of teens stood up and made their way out of the group of test takers to stand behind Ibiki. Some released henge jutsu and became a bit older.

“This exam was really 3 rolled into 1. First, it was a test of your technical skills. To be sitting here now, you either knew the answers or you had the skills to cheat and cheat well. Second, it was a test of your mental fortitude and your faith in your teammates. To be sitting here now, you have to have the strength to withstand basic interrogation tactics and total confidence in your teammates. Third, this part of the exam tested your personal conviction. To be sitting here right now, you must be willing to gamble your own personal future for the sake of your village.”

Ibiki reached up and pulled off his hat. He was bald. His scalp was pitted with deep scars and the skin between was unnaturally shiny and tight, like a healed burn-- a bad burn. “As chuunin, you will be trusted with sensitive information, with its acquisition, and with its protection. There may come a day when you have to decide what you are willing to risk, what you are willing to sacrifice, to fulfill that duty.”

Ibiki smiled. It was a small, sad, and genuine thing. “Officially, there is no 10th question. You all passed. Unofficially, I would like you to think on this: For the safety of your village, how much pain are you willing to endure? Are you willing to die? Are you willing to watch your teammates suffer or die?”

The genin were pinned to their seats. Eyes flickered between Ibiki’s face and his scars-- his torture scars.

“As much I’d like to believe that you are all the sort to find another way out of this sort of situation, there is no guarantee of another way out. As much as I’d like to hope your generation will never be forced to endure what mine did, no one can promise that. If you want to be a leader, you need to have an answer to my 10th question. How much are you willing to sacrifice? If the answer isn’t everything, I’d encourage you to reconsider contin---”

Glass shattered. 

A smoke bomb went off.

The projector screen descended in front of Ibiki, blocking him from view.

A new figure appeared in the smoke.

Anko surveyed the room. 78 genin were still in their seats. 

Some of them had the presence of mind to draw their weapons. That boded well for their chances in the next stage.

Anko smiled. She knew she was no Ibiki. She wasn’t built powerful. She didn’t dress in all black or anything striking. Her dark hair was pinned up in a loose bun with a dango stick. When she smiled, she looked friendly. 

“Hi everyone!” Anko called cheerfully. “I’m Anko Mitarashi. I’m the proctor for the second stage of the chuunin exam.” The projector whirred to life and her name appeared on the screen. “Boy, there sure are a lot of you.” 

Ibiki poked his head around the screen and glared at Anko. “You’re impatient,” he said.

“And you went too easy on them,” Anko fired back. To the genin she said. “Don’t worry. At least half of you will be eliminated by my test.”

Anko ignored the protests, groans, and whines. The projector flipped to the next slide-- a picture of a lush patch of forest surrounded by a high fence.

“Second stage will be a test of your survival and combat skills,” Anko explained. “It will take place in the always beautiful training ground number 44, more commonly known as the Forest of Death.”

Anko went on to detail how each team would be given 1 of 2 scrolls, either a heaven or an earth scroll. No one would know who had which scroll and the remaining 26 teams would have 3 days to collect both scrolls and make their way to the tower in the center of the forest.

Everyone did their best to listen as Anko described a few of the threats rumored to live in the forest-- “It’s only fair that everyone knows the rumors, don’t want to give the Konoha shinobi any advantages.” 

Somewhere between the flying leeches and the man eating jungle cat that stood taller than the average genin at the shoulder, Naruto zoned out. 

He stared down at the blank answer sheet on his desk and thought about how close he’d come to failing not everyone. If the exam had been graded as it was originally described, he would have gotten Team 7 disqualified. 

Instructions given, Anko clapped her hands, advised them to take a bathroom break, and ordered them to meet at training ground 44 in one hour.

As the genin filed out of the room, a couple nodded to Naruto.

Kabuto clapped the blond on the shoulder. “Thanks for saying what you did,” he whispered. “No one wanted to chicken out after that.”

Naruto just nodded. 

Sakura and Sasuke found Naruto still at his desk.

“Come on,” Sasuke said. “We don’t want to be late.”

Naruto nodded. He trailed his teammates out of the room with a smile he didn’t feel pasted on his face.

\---

With the genin gone and the assistant proctors off to help Anko monitor the second stage, Ibiki pulled his hat back on and picked his way to seat 246. Someone would be by eventually to clean up and toss the exams, but he wanted to see for himself what Naruto Uzumaki-Hatake put down.

Ibiki stared at the blank sheet for a minute and then burst out laughing. The only thing on the paper was the kid’s name.  _ He’s got guts if nothing else. _ Ibiki folded the paper and tucked it in his pocket. If the kid ever achieved his goal, Ibiki fully intended to give it back to him in a frame. In Ibiki’s line of work. That kind of guts actually counted for a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last set of posts for now. Hopefully I didn’t leave you on too bad of a cliff hanger (that’s why I posted them in a group). I’m working on the next couple chapters, but don’t have a date that they will be up.
> 
> Thank you for reading! (And putting up with my erratic posting) I appreciate your support and hope you are still having as much fun with this AU as I am.
> 
> Quick note on the chuunin exam: this is my favorite canon arc. It was my jumping on point for the series. The early parts of the exam won’t be radically different from canon (same type of test, same proctors, same competition), but I’m still excited to be putting my own nostalgia tinted spin on things and setting up for the next couple arcs.


End file.
